


Jealous Revelations

by wolfdancer333



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst and Feels, Chat Noir Being Chat Noir, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Jealous Chat Noir, Protective Chat Noir
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-12
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-21 21:12:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 35,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14293566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfdancer333/pseuds/wolfdancer333
Summary: Master Fu has been watching Cat Noir and Ladybug dance around their feelings long enough. When he introduces another Miraculous himself, what are the consequences? Why? And what happens when Cat Noir almost dies? Can Ladybug save him or is this going to take both sides of her to do? A wild ride of Agreste angst, near-death experiences, explosive jealousy and cat-like tendencies from Cat, super jealous cat-boy, and confused, teenage Marinette. And a meddling Guardian of the Miraculous. What could possibly go wrong?





	1. Breaking Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> Alllllllrighty then. I shall not be blamed for creating this. I don't know who is but it wasn't me! *begins deleting files on computer* I don't own Miraculous Ladybug because if I did Marinette would have her 3 kids with Adrien already. Please, if you read this, keep in mind I am not a sane person nor responsibile for the crap that comes out of my head. Thank you. :) Enjoy!!

What started as a normal day for Adrien Agreste turned horribly bad very quickly and he could blame it on being Cat Noir and the ridiculous amount of bad luck that had begun to follow him. But really, he only had himself to blame for this one. Normal breakfast eating alone, being told what to do and when to do it, being grounded from school because he wasn’t allowed to have a life, and waiting for the call from Ladybug to signal it was time for their nightly patrol. They spent a good half hour to an hour usually searching Paris and then would spend another half hour sitting atop the Eiffel Tower and watching the city lights for any sign of darkness. 

It was something she had started and something Adrien as himself and Cat Noir looked forward to. After his previous failed dinner, it seemed Ladybug realized his intentions were true – which they were. Adrien smiled sadly lying on his bed in thought, arms crossed behind his head. He loved her, Ladybug, and he wasn’t lying: he valued her friendship, her partnership, with him above all else and he would respect whatever decision she made about them. And, one day, he hoped she would change her mind and see that he wasn’t just some tom cat. 

Adrien sighed again when he smelled the horribly sickening smell of Plagg’s Camembert from where the cat-like kwami floated, hovering at the edge of his bed and chomping down the slice of cheese with a vigour that honestly astounded Adrien. 

“Plagg, why do you like Camembert so much?”

The black creature turned bright, slit green eyes to him, swallowing the last chunk of cheese. And Adrien sat up when, to his utter surprise, Plagg actually looked sheepish and he burned the image into his mind, sure he would never see it again. “Well, it was the first thing you gave me. After that first akuma and at the end of the day, when it was all over. You snuck me a bit and, well, you told me thank you.”

Adrien smiled and poked a teasing finger against his black kwami’s side, the little creature turning his back to his Chosen, tail twitching in embarrassment. “You like Camembert because I said thank you?”

Plagg sighed heavily and Adrien could just see the red burning his little friend’s face even from behind him. “I like it because it tells me you’re thankful every time you give it to me. Which isn’t nearly enough, kid!”

Adrien laughed and nodded happily. “Okay okay, I’ll get you more cheese.”

Just as he put his feet on the floor of his room, Plagg suddenly tensed, seemingly listening to something Adrien himself couldn’t hear before the kwami turned to him with a fanged smirk. “Your Lady is calling.”

Adrien’s heart fluttered. “Nightly patrol?”

Plagg nodded, zooming forwards and to Adrien’s shoulder, where he leaned onto him and Adrien’s eyes nearly popped out of his head when the usually un-expressive kwami gave his cheek a very gentle nuzzle, his little black ears twitching against his cheek. “Hey, kid…..Thanks. You know, you’re one of the best Cat Noir’s I’ve ever seen.”

Adrien felt his heart lift at the familiar emptiness that had been sinking slowly inside and he leaned his cheek very gently against his kwami. “And thanks for giving me the power to be Cat Noir. Thanks for, uh, letting me experience freedom.”

It was silent a moment before Plagg shook himself off like a cat doused in water and floated in front of Adrien’s face with his paws on his hips. “Are we gonna do this or not?”

Adrien grinned, stood to his feet, and held out his silver ring, watching as Plagg’s ears twitched and he closed his eyes, preparing for the feeling of electricity coursing through him. “Plagg, Claws Out!”

The little kwami was sucked into the silver ring, turning it black, a glowing green paw print emblazoned across the head of the ring. And Adrien felt himself become Cat Noir with the usual elation that meant he was soon going to be free, able to run across the rooftops and swing through the night using his baton. He could leave this large, cold empty house behind; leave behind a father who appeared to be better off without a son; to leave behind his Gorilla bodyguard and Natalie whose heart was in the right place but could never replace his mom; he got to leave behind Adrien Agreste and forget he had a life that made him hate how empty he felt inside.

As soon as the last of the transformation formed around him, Cat opened his expressive green eyes and darted for his window, throwing it open and letting the night breeze ruffle through his golden hair. His ears twitched at the sound of nightly Paris coming to life, a blend of soft music and lights that made him smile wide. As he climbed onto the windowsill, he looked around. From his room at the large mansion he had a great view of Paris and he drank the sight in. A beautifully lit up town with the Eiffel Tower lit up in the distance like a giant beacon.

He could hear – thank you sensitive ears – the sounds of Paris’ couples as they made their way through the City of Love on dates or even friends happily basking in themselves. He took a deep breath of perfume and roses before he let himself fall forward, tipping over and closing his eyes. He had intended to let the air fly by him before he used his baton to vault upwards and to the roof across from him but he never got the chance.

He heard a shriek followed by a familiar body flying into his and the weightless feeling of Ladybug’s smooth suit against his as she flew them through the air dangling from her yo-yo. He heard her mumble something about a stupid cat and he grinned against her, keeping his eyes closed, but tightening his arms around her. He felt her tense and he breathed out, “Relax, my Lady. It’s just a hug. I’m not going to bite you. Yet.”

He heard her snort and his ear twitched. “If you’ve got rabies, Cat, I’m putting you down.”  
He opened his eyes, turning them to watch her face as she flew them through Paris, the sky flying above them in a cadence of stars and night, Paris’ lights lighting up the air around them. Her mask covered her eyes and the bridge of her nose but he could see those large, bluebell eyes gazing out at the city as she flung her yo-yo to the next point, sailing them over building after building. They were high enough in the air to get a good glimpse of the city below them when she brought them upwards and he watched her eyes scan the ground and the horizon for any sort of akuma or sign of danger. And just a little, his heart melted for her again. 

She said she couldn’t love him. She didn’t say he had to stop loving her. Even if she did, Cat knew he wouldn’t be able to. His eyes widened and he nearly yelped when Ladybug almost missed her next point of contact when they both felt the rumble in his chest. He looked away but he could still feel her face heat up.

“So you do purr.”

Cat smiled sheepishly, turning back and making sure she glanced at him before he wiggled his eyebrows. “Only furr you.”

Her lips twitched and Cat grinned. “If you make another pun, Kitty, I’m dropping you and we’ll see if you really do land on your feet.”

His nose twitched as she took a higher fly up than usual and her hair wound up near his nose. And he closed his eyes at the scent of her. She was something of a mystery and even her scent was hard to put down to name. It was a mix of sweets and the smell of a fragrant perfume that reminded him instantly of warmth and sunshine. His purring intensified. 

He heard her groan and his eyes opened, smiling in embarrassment. “Cat…..”

He took one more moment of the feeling of her one arm not flinging the yo-yo wrapped around him and his own around her before he leapt away from her, shooting his baton out to the ground and vaulting forward. He heard her laugh and suddenly, the both of them were free, shooting up into the sky. Cat Noir watched her sail through the air, her yo-yo latching on and pulling her up and forward. His baton shot him up and he planted his feet against it, shooting sideways and sailing through the air, catching himself on the side of a stone building. He clawed his way up the side, shooting up to land on all fours. He darted across the building, his body lithely moving like a cat, and he wondered if it would feel like this if he tried it as Adrien. 

He heard her close to him and he marvelled at them, at what they were. It was like they could read each other’s minds and their patterns always fell together, as if they had synchronized themselves to each other. When he moved, jumping off the roof he had been darting across to shoot his baton upward, she flew by his right, locking eyes and grinning before her yo-yo took her farther away. And he chased her. Their movements were in sync, planned almost, and Cat felt his lips stretch into a grin wide enough to hurt.

He sailed through the air, twisting on his baton to face her as he shot himself backwards. He didn’t need to see. He only wanted to watch her. Her eyes were wide, watching him preform a feat she had never seen him do before – and if she knew how often he actually did sometimes sneak out to just have a run across the rooftops, she would surely be furious her partner hadn’t told her. He watched her eyes twinkle beneath the stars of the night, her nose scrunching up when she smiled. His eyes must have softened because she flushed and then she was gone, darting forward and past him, heading towards the Eiffel Tower in the distance. 

It was as if time slowed, both of them in the air, his eyes watching her – always watching her – and maybe that was why he saw it first. Or maybe his cat instincts prompted him to notice it. Or maybe it was his bad luck. But when he saw the giant, metallic akuma come flying for an oblivious Ladybug – she was never that oblivious! - Cat Noir reacted. He had done it thousands of times before, shoving himself in front of her and taking the blows meant for her, and he would never stop doing that. He loved her, her life mattered, and she was so much more important than him in their partnership. So when he flung himself, arms spread wide, affectionate smile staring down into dawning blue eyes, he clenched his eyes shut in pain.

This akuma wasn’t playing around. A long, sharp pole rammed through his shoulder and he grit his teeth to keep from shouting in pain. He thought he heard Ladybug scream his name but everything began to get fuzzy. His mind swam and dark circles flashed through his vision. When the pointed pole slid out of his body, he felt himself falling, unable to move. His body was paralysed. He wasn’t sure how long he fell but he never hit the ground. One moment he was falling, his vision fading, and the next he was being carried, bridal style, in the arms of his Princess. 

He knew it was her from the smell of her hair down to the thin arms and wavering vision of red and black spots. He tried to make a joke about him being the princess but when he opened his mouth, a terrible pain shot through him and instead he whimpered. Ladybug’s arms tightened on him as she flew through the city, jumping from roof to roof. The stars twinkled above him, blending together and Cat Noir smiled, lifting a clawed hand to gently grasp her arm in comfort, to reassure her that her kitty was going to be okay. 

As he felt himself fading, he heard her muffled shouts for him, his name being called over and over with an urgency he had never heard from her, panic seeping into her voice. But what confused him were the warm drops of rain that hit his face before everything faded to black. 

 

When Cat opened his eyes, he noticed three things: he was not at home in his bedroom, he was not Cat Noir and was back to Adrien, and not only was his black kwami floating above him but so was a green turtle looking one. It was glowing green and he soon realized that the glow was surrounding him, enveloping him in a warmth so comforting, he had to blink back tears at the remembrance of the feel of his mother’s arms around him. He was a bit shocked to feel that the wound in his shoulder barely hurt and when he went to lift a hand to touch it, a chuckle made his eyes snap to the older man with a wooden cane standing at the foot of the make-shift bed he was lying on. 

“Don’t move too much, Cat Noir. You’ll interrupt Wayzz’s healing. How are you feeling?”  
Adrien took a moment to respond, his mind still in a deep fog, full alertness avoiding him. “It hurts, still. But at least I’m not –“

His eyes went wide and his gaze fell to first Plagg who for the first time since Adrien had become Cat Noir looked lost and sad, lonely, to the green turtle kwami, Wayzz, healing him and back to the man who had addressed him. His eyes narrowed.

“Who are you? And how do you know I’m Cat Noir?”

The man chuckled and held up a hand in peace. “I am Master Fu. I am….A Guardian, you could say, of the Miraculous. I am the one who gave you the Ring of the Black Cat.”

Adrien’s eyes widened, this new information causing a spike of pain in his head that made him wince. He yelped when a black ball flew towards him so fast, it smashed into his cheek. He winced but when he realized it was Plagg, he brought up a hand, ignoring the pain shooting through his injured shoulder at the motion, and cupped the little kwami to his cheek and closed his eyes. 

Chosen and kwami basked in the fact that he was indeed alive and when he felt Plagg’s trembling, Adrien cracked a smile to lighten the mood as he joked, “We both know I’m invincible Plagg.”

The cat gave a snort before he lifted his head to stare with shiny green eyes into Adrien’s. “You really gave us all a scare, kid. That was close, too close.”

Adrien sighed and closed his eyes, letting the healing flow over him and trying to push back the pounding in his skull. He still had a lot of questions and even more for this Master Fu but there was a very pressing question he couldn’t ignore. He had to know and his gut clenched with trepidation as he voiced it.”And…..Ladybug?”

He felt Plagg tense and instantly Adrien knew. He couldn’t explain how but the moment the room dropped to silence and when Plagg pulled away from him, he knew: Ladybug had seen him detransform. She knew he was Adrien Agreste. And she wasn’t here. Adrien lifted an arm to cover his face, feeling empty as his world crashed down around him. 

It was Master Fu whose quiet voice told him the truth. “I’m sorry, Adrien. She was worried about you and she wouldn’t leave. When she saw you….”

Plagg finished for the Guardian with a slightly apprehensive voice. “She ran. Well, actually, she looked like she was the one who got stabbed and then she ran away. Kid, I don’t know how we’re going to fix this.”

Adrien swallowed past the lump in his throat. “I don’t know but I’ve got to. She’s….I love her, mask or not. And I need her to trust me. So I’ll fix it. No matter what.”

This time, Plagg pulled his arm away from his face and when Adrien looked into those green eyes, the last thing he expected to see was pity. The black kwami curled his tail around Adrien’s wrist. “That’s…..That’s not all kid. This isn’t going to be easy to fix.”

“Why not?” Adrien blinked when the green glow began to slowly fade into the air, misting into a sparkly cloud of green. “I can do this, I have to.”

Plagg shook his head gently. “Do you remember when Dark Owl attacked and you released your transformations?”

Adrien blushed but nodded. He had been so close! But his trust and belief in her, his respect, was so much more important than knowing who she was. He could never know and his feelings would never change. Or he could find out now and they would still not change. 

Plagg seemed to realize this too and the kwami’s ears twitched, a small smile finally breaking through the gray cloud of worry. “Well, I saw her. I know who she is. And just now, it happened again. Right before she ran away, the shock…..It changed her back and I know who she is. And trust me, kid, you’re gonna need some serious luck to fix this. And black cats don’t have good luck.”

When Adrien sat up, there was only a small twinge in his shoulder. He looked gratefully up at Wayzz as the small kwami flew to hover close to Master Fu’s shoulder. “Thanks, Wayzz. And Master Fu.”

Master Fu bowed his head quickly in acknowledgement. “No, thank you, Cat Noir, for protecting Paris. For stepping up and being a hero.”

Adrien flushed, not used to the praise, and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. Plagg revelled in this with a chuckle. Adrien shot him a glare as he stood, shakily, to his feet. He clenched his fists a couple of times, rolled his injured shoulder, and he winced at the pain shooting through it.

A gentle touch on his arm had him looking into the wise eyes of Master Fu. The man’s eyes held secret after secret and he gave Adrien a comforting smile. “Don’t use the arm too much for a couple of days or you risk reopening the wound. If you do that, it could be fatal for you. As for Ladybug, Plagg will show where to find her. Use your senses Cat Noir. You know who she is, you probably always have known. Now, go and show her you mean what you said.”

Adrien blinked and nodded, his eyes narrowing in determination. “I will.”

Wayzz flew up to him and Adrien smiled. “How do you know you will love her if you don’t know who she is?”

Adrien took a deep breath. “Because my feelings aren’t so superficial that a mask will keep me from loving the girl and the superhero. She’s the same girl. Brave, beautiful, strong. The mask only hides her face not her heart.”

Master Fu grinned, seemingly pleased as he nodded to Adrien. “You will do just fine, Cat Noir. Remember: you are both two halves of a whole. One cannot exist without the other. You are meant to be. So go and show her that you are.”

Adrien grinned, saluting with two fingers before he clenched his fist, holding it up with his silver ring flashing as he shouted, “Plagg, Claws Out!”

As Cat Noir grinned, his ears twitching, shooting out of the small home of Master Fu and disappearing into the night, Wayzz cautiously approached his Chosen, sitting gently on his shoulder. “Are you sure this was okay Master? Shouldn’t their identities be a secret?”

Master Fu smiled, looking at his kwami out the corner of his eye. “They are still just teenagers, Wayzz. They’ve accepted a great responsibility and we almost lost Cat Noir tonight. They should know. And besides, Wayzz.” Master Fu walked towards his phonograph as Wayzz watched him sadly. He pushed the red eyes of the Dragons and when they slid down to reveal a secret compartment with buttons, he pressed three in a pattern. Finally, the record player popped open and a large, red wood box with a red cross design on the top lifted up. As soon as he lifted the lid, several compartments popped out of the box. All kinds of Miraculous greeted him and Wayzz, pictures of animals sitting beneath the Miraculous.

However, one was missing and Master Fu let his fingers run over the image of the animal where a brown bracelet had been placed before. The spot was empty now and Wayzz floated down, looking up with concern. 

“Why did you give the Miraculous to that boy, Master? Why did you circulate another?”

Master Fu smiled sadly. “He is necessary.”

“But-Master, cats and dogs don’t get along…..”  
“Exactly.”

 

Cat dashed across roof after roof, using his baton for the really long jumps. He let the air pass over him, the night cool for summer, the stars still twinkling high above him. Paris was quieter now and the lights were dimmer leaving a soft glow that had his eyes softening. He vaulted up a chimney and soared through the air, his tail twitching in his excitement. When he landed, he was panting slightly at the adrenaline coursing through his blood and took a moment to examine his surroundings, nose sniffing out a familiar scent. 

He blinked when his eyes fell on the T&S Bakery on the corner and he looked in confusion. He was sure this was where Plagg had told him go when he had stopped a while back to be guided. But why Marinette’s parents’ bakery? Wasn’t he meant to be finding Ladybug? A revelation crept up in the back of his mind but Cat Noir had yet to acknowledge it. Deep inside the black of Cat Noir’s ring, Plagg shivered. This was it, the moment of truth. 

Cat jumped agilely across the roof he was on until he made a leap, landing quietly on the silver-white railing of the Bakery’s top balcony. There was a white rail planter hanging off the side of the balcony with red roses that were blooming beautifully in the summer air. Eyes lighting up, Cat grabbed one, careful of thorns and he perched on the railing as he picked them out, one by one. If Ladybug was here, he was going to give it to her. Roses suited her, after all!

When all the thorns were plucked, Cat looked around at the familiarity of this place. He had been here once or twice before as Cat and the one time he remembered all too well with drooped ears. The last time he remembered being here was when Ladybug didn’t show up for his surprise. He winced when he remembered how he had behaved, a bit ashamed, yet he couldn’t help the hurt in his heart at the thought of her loving someone else. Then he remembered why he was here. 

She was here. And she had seen him without the disguise of his mask. She had run away from him and Cat Noir, and Adrien himself, hated the thought she might now despise him, that whatever they had – their partnership, trust – was now irreparably broken. Slowly and quietly, his feet making no noise when they hit the floor of the balcony, he pounced to the floor on all fours. A round, wooden table was right next to his left with a black tea kettle he assumed Marinette used sometimes when she had guests. 

There was a white and pink lawn chair right behind the wooden table with a white sheet tied and connected up by multi-coloured, round lights. The glass hatch door was right in front of him and he debated if he should knock, the rose wrapped tightly in his tail. The next series of events would, unknowingly, break his heart all over again. As soon as he opens the hatch and drops down onto Marinette’s bed, even though all the lights are off except a single candle in her window, he spots her instantly. He winces as if he’s been stabbed again, feeling the pain of the wound flare to life.

She’s holding her knees tightly to her chest, her arms wrapped around them and her head ducked somewhere in-between. But he supposes what really hurts him, digs deep like a disease, are the sobs he can hear from her shaking form. His tail twitches, the rose falling to her bed, and he quietly climbs down the ladder to the floor, crawling on all fours towards her form on the pink and white polka-dotted chaise lounge. Her feet were bare, her toes digging into the chaise. Cat’s eyes softened and he whispered, “Marinette….”

As if burned, the shy girl who could never say two words in a complete sentence in front of Adrien yet completely rebuke Cat’s puns, looked afraid of him when her wide, blue eyes fell on him. And Cat’s heart broke, his ears twisting down at the fear in her eyes and the way she leaned away from him. Her mouth was open slightly, her bottom lip trembling. Tear tracks traced her cheeks while the corners of her eyes continued to well and Cat sharply inhaled when a vague memory of warm drops hitting his face surfaced.

She had cried for him and she was crying again but these tears were fearful, painful. He tried to gather the words to say something, anything, but Marinette’s eyes hardened – his heart plummeted into his feet – and she turned her head away from him.

Her words turned his blood to ice. “J-Just leave me alone.”

Cat’s eyes widened and he hesitated. He wanted to explain, there were so many things he had to say, but Marinette refused to look at him, and her fear of him rendered him powerless to do anything but sit on his haunches and stare at her. Then, from the deepest recesses of his mind, that creeping thought came to a full halt and Cat tensed, his claws digging into the wood of her floor and he couldn’t be bothered to know or care if he had left scratches. 

“Marinette…..Where’s…..Ladybug?”

She laughed, humourlessly, the sound causing his gut to clench horribly. She turned her head back to him and gestured to herself with a shaking hand. “You’re looking at her.”

Adrien had not expected that but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense, and oh God – 

He felt his face burst into a horrible blush as his green slit eyes snapped to the floor, his claws digging so far into the wood he could hear it splintering. His tail was stiff, upright, and his ears were rooted to his head. He was so tense his wound was beginning to hurt badly but he could only stare at the floor. All the things he said, all the things he had done…..He didn’t regret them, he knew, and he wasn’t lying: he loved her, mask or not, but she….She did know who he was right? 

He took a deep breath and asked quietly, “You know me too….”

He looked up, his eyes begging her to say she hadn’t seen him, that she left, but he knew her too well as both Ladybug and Marinette – how had he NOT noticed she was the same person!? - to know that to be true. So when she nodded blankly his eyes fell back to the floor. 

He said the only thing he knew. “I’m sorry.”

And then all hell exploded. His life fell apart before his eyes when Marinette’s angry, tear-filled eyes fell on him and he yelped at the betrayal in them, the pain shining through them. “Sorry? Sorry doesn’t even begin to cut it, Ad-Ca-I don’t even know what to call you!”

She threw her hands up in the air and suddenly she was all Ladybug and all fire as she stormed off the chaise to pace, her hands clenched at her side. Cat stood up himself, backing himself up against the ladder as he watched her, wanting to comfort her to fix this, but not knowing how. “Well, Adrien, I guess.”

Her stormy eyes flashed to him and he fell silent, completely quiet, when she stopped to stare him down. Her black-blue hair was loose and brushing her shoulders and he had the sudden cattish urge to sniff it. He flushed, desperately fighting the urge to approach the not happy girl.

“I mean, how long have you known? Do you….Do you care….I mean, I know I’m not the smartest but come on!” He blinked at the queries, a bit confused, and his ears twitched. The moment her gaze snapped to his appendages, he clamped his hands down hard on them. “You were…..You were my best friend. Cat and Adrien. And now….” 

All the fire drained out of her, leaving a small, vulnerable girl whose hands rose to her face as her watery voice hammered away at his heart. “Now I can’t trust you at all!”

Cat felt his body freeze. She…..Didn’t trust him any more? Was this…..Were they over? His hands holding down his ears fell to his sides and he choked out, “W-What do you mean?”

Marinette spun away from him but he could see – stupid cat vision – her shoulders trembling and knew she was crying again. Her shaky breathing and hitched voice confirmed it. “You can’t just play with someone else’s feelings, that’s what you said right? Then why are you playing with mine!?”

Cat was honestly completely flabbergasted when her narrowed, tear-filled eyes faced him again from just over her shoulder. Her feelings? “I would never play with your feelings, ever, Marinette. As you or Ladybug. None of that matters. I would never hurt you. Marinette, Ladybug, doesn’t matter. I trust you. I believe in you. I lo –“

He bumped into the ladder when a high-pitched noise left her throat as she spun to completely face him, her eyes shining with a pain that hurt more than the wound in his shoulder. “Don’t you dare fucking say it, you mangy cat!”

Cat was definitely sure he had made a colossal mistake but then his eyes – his cat vision was both a curse and a gift – fell on the multitude of familiar looking pictures from behind her desk. His eyes widened and his body loosened as he looked at all the images of him, of Adrien, and it all clicked in a single second. Her stuttering, her happiness whenever he was near her, the odd looks Alya would give her and the way Nino would nudge him. It all collided in his mind and suddenly everything made sense. Ladybug didn’t love Cat Noir…...Because she loved Adrien. But he was Adrien. So…..This revelation caused his eyes to turn back to her shaking form. She was crying and furiously wiping tears from her eyes. 

His eyes narrowed. It was not ending like this. He wasn’t going to let it. So he took a step forward. Her eyes shot up and she pointed a shaking finger at him. “Stay away from me, Cat, I’m serious! Leave me alone.”

He paused and Marinette’s eyes faded from the roiling ocean to a sad, shining mist. Her angry frown became a wobbling grimace. “I loved you….”

And then she was looking at the floor, her shoulders slumped. Cat’s chest was so tight, he felt he couldn’t breathe. “….Loved…..?”

Marinette slowly turned away from him, walking towards her chaise lounge and slumping onto it, burying her face in her hands again. “Go away.”

Cat blinked at the stinging in his eyes and his ears flattened completely against his head, his tail sinking to the floor. “Princess…..”

He let out an ‘oof’ when she whirled at the nickname that had once been annoyingly affectionate and whacked him in the chest with a book she had grabbed from a pile near the chaise lounge. And he dodged the pillow thrown at him, jumping up the ladder to her bed. When she rose, taking off her shoes, he darted up through the hatch and to the railing, his eyes wide. She emerged from the hatch, clutching a shoe in each hand, and breathing heavily. But in the light of her balcony he got a good look at her. 

Her eyes were puffy and an angry red. Her cheeks were blotchy from the tears she had shed. Her nose was red and her lips were pale pink, almost white. Her hair, though loose, was mussed and messy and he realized she must have been gripping her hair when she cried. Cat, Adrien, whoever he was – he didn’t even know any more – felt a cold despair fill him like water pouring into a glass until he overflowed. 

He looked at the claws on his black clad hands and he felt the tears stinging his eyes as he whispered, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

With a cry, Cat squeezed his eyes closed and leapt from her balcony to the roof across from her. He didn’t stop. Even when the tears began to flow, even when his eyes opened to the darkness of night and the coldness inside him exploded into a wracking, heaving pain he kept darting over roofs and up buildings until he reached the large metal, legs of the Eiffel Tower. Then, he climbed. His claws sunk into the metal and he darted upwards, the very light pattering of rain falling onto him. His insides squirmed at the thought of rain but Cat was beyond caring. 

He climbed and climbed and climbed until he reached the top of the Tower. He sank to his knees, clawed hands clutching at the metal, panting. His ears sunk down and his tail curled into him. He lifted his head up to the rain, eyes squeezed shut, letting his hot tears mix with the cold water from the sky. He hadn’t cried, not like this, since his Mom. He hadn’t felt a pain like this even when she was gone. This was a pain that ate at him, destroying him, and feeling the bubbling emotions licking at him, Cat opened his mouth and yowled. 

His pain echoed into the night, camouflaged by the rolling thunder. Adrien wasn’t sure how long he perched on the Eiffel Tower, his eyes staring numbly out at Paris. He was soaked and even his suit didn’t give him much assurance after standing out in the rain for so long. He shuddered at the feel of the water on his body, hating it with a cat-like fury that had him missing the warmth of his mother even more. He had lost everything. His Father didn’t want him. His Mother was gone. Marinette, Ladybug they were the same and he had lost her too. With her, he knew Alya would be hesitant to speak to him and he didn’t want to cause trouble between her and Nino. 

He had to face her every day, the same woman he had crushed on for years, and the girl whose deepest friendship he treasured. He shivered in the cold and decided it was time to go home, go to that large empty home where nothing but indifference would greet him. Sure, Natalie tried. He began a slow climb down the Tower, lost in thought. Natalie tried and he liked her. He was sure she liked him, too. And Gorilla. Gorilla was usually happy to see him and always concerned over his well-being. So yes, he wasn’t completely abandoned but Cat felt the ache in his heart any way. What did it matter? He had lost the love of his life.

When the dejected superhero hit the ground, crouched on all fours, he sat there a moment watching the rain fall down. It was falling heavier now in thicker sheets and the scent of purifying rainwater filled his stuffed nostrils from his earlier bout of crying. Slowly, and without bothering to open his baton, Cat stalked home through the dark, rainy streets. He couldn’t remember how long it took him or even which way he had gone. All he knew was by the time he got home, his mansion looming above him, he was not only soaked to his bones but his paws hurt. 

His ears were trembling and his tail was completely deduced to being water-logged. He closed his eyes, memorizing the feel and smell of Paris, the sounds of the City of Love before he vaulted up the cream walls surrounding the mansion. He crouched at the top before leaping at the edge of his open window. As soon as he pulled himself inside, he shuddered, lying on the floor and closed his eyes. He didn’t need to say anything, not this time, before Plagg removed the transformation.

Adrien shivered harshly before he mumbled, his voice cracking as he heard Plagg hovering above him. “Sorry buddy. I can’t get you cheese right now.”

And for all that Adrien knew, out of all the people he thought of in his life, he knew he would always have Plagg the moment the kwami settled on the floor with him. Plagg curled right next to Adrien’s face, their noses touching. His little, black body shivered too, just as soaked if not more than Adrien, and when the kwami’s paw touched his cheek, Plagg whispered, “I don’t need cheese. It will…..It’ll be okay.”

And damn did Adrien want to believe Plagg. He did, he really did, but he knew it was a lie. He remembered Marinette’s eyes and he unconsciously mumbled, “She hates me. I don’t deserve her Plagg, I never did. But….I don’t know if...” His voice broke again and he let out a shaking gasping breath at the pain in his chest. “I don’t know if I can handle her rejection. She’s going to avoid me. I’ll never…..She never wants to see me again.”

Plagg’s little paw calmly stroked his cheek. “She’s hurt and angry. You’re both young, kid. Hell, I’m over 5000 yeaars old! She’s,” Plagg mustered up a smirk he didn’t feel to lighten the mood. “She’s feisty. But she’s also young, hurt, and just been smacked with a load of information. You never hid your feelings, Adrien, but now she’s got to deal with hers.”

Adrien knew this was true. He could trust Plagg but right now, right now all he wanted to do was crawl into his bed and pretend his heart wasn’t broken. Plagg must have sensed this because the kwami patted his cheek, prompting his green eyes to open. 

“Come on, let’s get into bed. You’ve got school tomorrow.”

Adrien nodded but deep in his mind, he wondered if it was all worth it. Was it worth it going to school tomorrow, seeing her, knowing, and having her hate him? She hadn’t said she hated him and maybe he was overreacting but he knew Ladybug. And he knew Marinette. No matter how much he had annoyed her with his puns or made her stutter uncontrollably, she never abandoned him. Now, she wanted nothing to do with him. Sighing deeply, Adrien pushed himself to stand to his feet. He wobbled to his bed before tossing his wet clothes onto the floor without a care. 

He wasn’t going to bother towelling off but when he heard the gasping pants, he turned and blinked at the sight that greeted him. Plagg must have known he would need to dry off because the kwami – Plagg had a heart, Adrien had known it all along – was currently trying to float with one draped over his body towards Adrien. He smiled as best he could before he gently peeled the towel away from his friend. 

“Thanks.”

Plagg rubbed behind one of his ears awkwardly before he groaned and dived for the bed, curling beneath a pillow. Adrien only knew where the kwami was due to his still visibly swishing tail and purring that rumbled from beneath the pillow. Adrien shook his head before he climbed into bed, tiredly pulling the covers to his chin. Today was a disaster. He closed his eyes and let sleep claim him to the sound of rolling thunder, Plagg’s purring, and the sound of his heart breaking inside his chest.

He didn’t get much sleep and in fact, when Adrien opened his eyes the next morning, his head felt heavy like he had stayed up for days. He rubbed his eyes, trying to erase the tiredness away, and chuckled when he felt the rumbling on his chest. When he looked down, his eyes softened. Plagg. The cat God-like sprite that granted him his powers was usually a pretty rude, blunt, and self-indulgent little furball but it was at times like this that Adrien could truly see how much Plagg liked him. His deepest friend was lying on his chest, curled into a ball of black. His whiskers and tail were curled around him. The only thing really visible was his large, black ears. Sometime during the night, Adrien – having tossed and turned through most of it – had kicked the covers almost completely off of him.

But little Plagg must have grabbed the sheets and pulled them up because he was still clutching it, keeping them covering his chosen. The affection that filled him for his companion almost made him grab the black cat and cuddle him but he knew it would not be appreciated. Instead, he lifted a hand and pet the little kwami’s head, making the purr erupt into a louder, deeper rumble. He let the sound wash over him as he tried to figure out how he was going to deal with school today after his fight – and identity reveal which was altogether a whole other matter to address – with Marinette. The thought of her caused his finger petting Plagg to twitch.

And the moment was over. Plagg’s bright green eyes popped open and he shot up into the air like a cork from a bottle, his tail swishing fearfully. When the little black kwami fell back to the bed with a huff and a snort, Adrien pushed the covers off and let his feet fall to the cold floor of his room, and he looked over at the gray stand with the globe on it next to his bed as he yawned. 

“Good morning, Plagg.”

“Don’t good morning me! You nearly killed me! Ohhh, I need my sweet, sweet Camembert to erase the traumatic event from my mind….” Plagg moaned. 

Adrien laughed as he stood, his boxers scrunching around his hips as he stretched his arms into the air. The sun fell onto his chest and he didn’t notice Plagg’s raised eyebrows due to beginning to scrounge around for clothes to wear.

He nearly fell onto his face when Plagg teasingly called over, “Geez, kid, could you get any more ripped for a 15 year old boy?”

Adrien coughed and resumed his search for clothes with a quicker determination. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the way he looked. But rather being a model for his Dad could get tiring. All the flashing lights, people watching him, the expectations and disappointments. He liked modelling, really, but sometimes the pressure became too much. 

He mumbled back to Plagg just as he grabbed some clothes and headed back towards his bed, flushed down to his toes. “And whose fault do you think that is….”

Plagg laughed heartily as he zoomed towards the stand with the globe, ducking into a cupboard before he emerged with two slices of Camembert, the cheese making Adrien pale as he swallowed thickly. 

Plagg grinned, his little fangs glinting up at Adrien in the light of the sun. “Well, certainly not mine. You’re the one in the suit.”

Reality crashed down around him and he let his clothes fall to his bed, his hands slamming down on the blue covers, eyes squeezed shut. He was grateful when he felt Plagg’s little paw awkwardly pat his shoulder. 

“It will be okay, remember. You can do this. I’m not an expert on love or anything!” Adrien looked up at his now blushing kwami who was staring forlornly out Adrien’s windows, his tail swishing behind him. “But I do know that Master Fu doesn’t make mistakes. You two were chosen. And everything will be okay. That old man knows what he’s doing.”

Adrien took a deep breath and let his shoulders relax, trying to unclench the muscles in his back. When he stood, he was smiling but judging by Plagg’s wince he wasn’t doing too well at smiling normally. Their conversation lulled as Adrien pulled a pitch black shirt over his head, wincing at the slight pain in hiss shoulder, followed by a pair of designer jeans that he rolled his eyes at. He never had any clothes that weren’t branded, especially by his Father’s company. He pulled on another one of his white button up shirts and then slid his feet into some black socks.

Just as he was sliding his feet into a pair of white tennis shoes – his orange pair still soaked from the rain yesterday – he heard the telltale knocking on his door, followed by Natalie’s distinctly professional monotone through his door. “Breakfast is ready.”

Adrien grabbed his gray school bag, stuffed a floating Plagg into it, a couple of textbooks on his computer desk, and shuffled towards his bedroom door, the yellow caution sign showing a bear. For a split second, he grinned, feeling more like Cat, as he wondered if he should replace the sign with a cat. As he ran a hand through his unruly hair to try and straighten it out, he opened the door. Gorilla was there, standing tall with his hands behind his back, face set in stone. Adrien smiled up at his bodyguard as the large man walked with him down the white, marble stairs towards the foyer. He paused at the large painting hung up on the wall above the foyer steps.

It was a portrait of him and his Dad, both wearing black, both frowning. Adrien felt his breath catch. It was the portrait after his Mom….After she was gone. Adrien cautiously approached the large painting, very much aware of Gorilla’s eyes on him as he raised a hand. It touched the painting and he sighed, the sound loud in the quiet of the foyer. 

He was a bit surprised when a large hand fell on his shoulder and steered him away. He glanced up at Gorilla’s face but nothing had changed as he was guided down the foyer steps. He hesitated, wanting to look back at the painting, but knowing he wouldn’t be able to so he followed Gorilla into the door to their left, heading straight into the dining room. His sneakered feet clapped on the marble steps as he stepped into the room, Gorilla hovering outside the doors. Natalie was there, standing by the chair at the end of the long, rectangular, wooden table with white cushioned chairs. He stepped down the marble steps onto the wood floor where the table sat.

He sat, letting his bag fall gently to the floor by his side, mindful of Plagg. Natalie watched him with hawk-like eyes behind her glasses and Adrien fiddled with the glass of milk. He looked at the nutritionally planned breakfast – an egg over easy, a small bowl of oatmeal, and an even smaller bowl of greek yogurt with slices of strawberries – and groaned, throwing his head back against the chair as he looked down the long table at the empty seat at the other side. 

He clenched his hands into fists. “He isn’t coming, is he?”

Natalie, quietly standing by his side, laid a small hand on his shoulder and he closed his eyes, trying to fight the warmth building behind them. Why? He was a good son, right? He was saving Paris, he got good grades, excellent grades! He never really asked for anything either. So why couldn’t his Father bear to sit with him for 5 minutes and eat breakfast? Was he really that unlovable? A flash of Marinette’s pain-filled, teary eyes slashed through his chest and his shoulders slumped. Yeah, yeah he was. 

He pushed the tray of food away, crossing his arms, and staring at the portrait above the fireplace. He heard Natalie’s sigh. “You have to eat something, Adrien.”

He tightened his arms across his chest. His mother’s bright green eyes – his eyes – stared back at him and he cursed at the stuttering of his heart. He missed his Mom, he missed her so much. She made everything warm, she had made this big empty house full of life. She made his Dad smile. Adrien muttered, “I’m not hungry.”

Natalie’s voice carried over to him, firm. “Eat, Adrien.”

He exploded. Maybe it was his mother’s smiling face in that portrait, Marinette’s pain tearing him apart, or maybe it was his Father’s inability to love him but Adrien stood and slammed his hands on the wooden table with so much force, the wood creaked. His chair flew back, hitting the wood of the floor with a thud. He grit his teeth against the stinging in his eyes as he hoisted his bag onto his shoulder as he pushed past a surprised Natalie. 

She gasped when he pushed past her and he felt a bit of remorse for it but not enough to stop. He needed to get out of here. He walked forward, past the beautifully gray, white, and black marble of the foyer and pushed open the Agreste mansion’s front doors – well, to be more accurate, he kicked one door open and strode out, ignoring Natalie’s calls for him. As his feet hit the stairs, he found himself slowly picking up speed until he hit the black gates with a growl. He was panting, his eyes burning and his chest aching tightly. 

He pounded at the gates with his fists until his hands were throbbing. He glanced down at the ground, panting, and he could just make out Plagg’s purring in his bag. He dropped a hand to fall inside his bag and immediately the kwami was holding onto one of his fingers with both of his paws, purring, the only comfort he could give. Adrien took deep breaths and when he straightened, he didn’t even need to turn around to address the bodyguard he knew was there, “I’m okay, just….Please, open the gate.”

He felt the large hand fall onto his shoulder a moment later as the gate’s clicked. Gorilla shoved a large hand against one and it flew open. Adrien felt those earlier tears biting at him and he swallowed as Gorilla opened the back door of the shiny, silver-blue car. Adrien climbed in and for the first time since Gorilla had been introduced to him, he pushed a button on his door that lifted up the divider between them. The moment the divider covered him, he let his head fall into his hands, his breathing heavy.

His eyes widened when Plagg’s black form floated into his lap, slit eyes looking up at him with probably the most serious expression he had ever seen his kwami wear. Plagg’s voice was quiet. “You don’t have to go to school today, Adrien. You can stay home. Maybe you should stay home, might do you some good.”

Adrien shook his head, lifting up his head and letting it rest against the seat of the car as he felt his bodyguard begin to navigate towards College Francois Dupont. Plagg slowly floated upwards and let his little black form fall next to Adrien’s head on the back-seat. They sat in silence but Adrien admitted that Plagg’s presence helped and he felt his nerves loosening somewhat. The tears behind his eyes faded. 

“I can’t, Plagg. I’ll just….Be stuck with my thoughts. Besides, I need to find out how to make all this better. I can’t do that at home.” 

He smiled gently when he felt Plagg pat the tip of his ear, his voice confident. “See? I know you weren’t too stupid to figure it out.”

When he nudged the little kwami with his head, he felt Plagg fly off and when his bag rustled, he knew Plagg was nestled inside to probably take a nap. Adrien snorted and shook his head, looking up at the ceiling of the car. He meant what he said. He wanted to fix this but for now he just needed to get through the school day and try to talk to Marinette. If she would even look at him. As soon as the car pulled smoothly up to Dupont, Adrien rolled down the divider. Gorilla was looking straight ahead, his large hands on the steering wheel. He was frowning and Adrien felt a bit bad about locking out one of the only people he had left so he reached over the seat hesitantly, patting the larger man’s shoulder. 

The rewarding quirk of Gorilla’s lips into a smile was enough. He threw the car door open before his bodyguard could even get out, grabbed his school bag and threw it over his shoulder, and stood out of the car, letting the warm sun hit his head. He shut the car door and waved. He took a deep breath when he turned, preparing himself but there wasn’t enough breath for what he saw. And instantly, the hairs on the back of his neck rose. If he was Cat, he would have had the desire to growl and he was pretty sure his eyes were flickering into slits even without his suit on.

He didn’t notice when he clutched the strap of his bag so tightly his knuckles turned white. All he could focus on was Marinette’s blushing, shy smile directed at the one person Adrien had not expected or prepared for at all: Luka Couffaine. Okay, they were all friends but what was he doing there now? And why did Adrien have the sudden desire to claw the older man’s eyes out? His black hair dyed blue at the tips was jumping as he laughed at something Marinette said, the girl sticking her lip out in a pout, face a deep cherry red. 

Adrien froze and his heart sank, a dark surge of anger roiling through him when Luka put his arm on Marinette’s lower back, steering her towards her class. She let him. Images of all the times he had reached out to her – dancing, running from akuma’s with her, reaching for a video game controller at the same time and bumping hands – and the way she pulled back, pulled away from him, as if burned. She didn’t with Luka. The guy was touching her and though she was red, she continued speaking to him normally and Adrien suddenly felt like maybe this wasn’t a good idea. Maybe Plagg was right: he should have stayed home. 

Alone. In a house too large and empty. With a missing mother and an estranged father. Adrien looked at his shoes, clutching his bag so tight, the strap was digging into his hand. He whispered, only loud enough for the kwami in his bag to hear him, “You were right.”

He felt the darting motion of Plagg flitting from the bag to underneath the white button-up shirt where he crawled up Adrien’s shirt. When Adrien felt Plagg’s comforting purr, he took deep breaths, the white of his shoes suddenly seeming much too bright. 

“Breathe, kid. It’ll be okay. What do you wanna do? I’ll help you get there.”

Adrien smiled just slightly at the concern in his little cat’s voice. If he was worrying Plagg then he was definitely not fooling anyone. He mumbled back, well aware some of the students were looking at him but he paid them no mind, his brain working in overdrive. “I don’t know. Why….Did you feel….”

Plagg cut him off, his voice rumbling out and ending on a hiss. “Something’s not right with that Luka kid. Besides the fact your jealous,” Plagg ignored his red face and quiet spluttering, “Something is up. The kid smells….Like a dog.”

Adrien couldn’t help the laugh and then flushed redder when he got some very confused looks. He was saved however when he saw Nino approaching from the side-walk, Alya’s arm linked through his best friend’s. He held up a hand in greeting but his smile dropped when he saw Nino’s sympathetic look and Alya’s hardened gaze. She let go of her boyfriend’s arm to stalk towards him and Adrien would never admit he was afraid of her but he did take a step back, causing Plagg in his shirt pocket to snort in amusement.

When she was close enough, she grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling his face down level with hers, eyes blazing. “What did you do?”

Adrien held up his hands, eyes widening. “Uh, I’m not sure what you mean.”

Nino approached to Alya’s right, looking torn between soothing his best friend and girlfriend. He settled for shrugging, hands in his pockets. “Dude, I’ve never seen Marinette like that. If you like her at all, you better apologize.”

“He better apologize anyway!” She snapped to Nino before her fiery golden eyes fell back on him and Adrien swallowed nervously. Were women always this scary? “My best friend. My. Best. Friend. Called me crying last night, completely tore up over you, you dumb pretty-boy!”

Adrien blinked and then his eyes slowly fell to the ground. His reply was quiet but somehow echoed between them louder than Alya’s anger. “There was….Marinette found out something about me that….I hadn’t told her. And, she was mad. She wouldn’t….She wouldn’t let me explain.”

He didn’t look up but he heard the sharp inhale Alya made. “I know her and Marinette wouldn’t ever do that unless this secret was something that really hurt her. Why did you even keep it from her?”

Adrien sighed, his shoulders sagging. Nino must have taken pity because his best friend’s arm slung over his shoulders a moment later. “Yo, Alya, he’s my best friend. Adrien is my bro. And if he had a secret, then, what’s wrong with that? There are tons of things you don’t want others to know, girl.”

He could see, from his eyes on the ground, Alya’s foot begin to tap in frustration. “I know! It’s just….” He heard her voice deflate quickly. “Adrien, seriously, you dumb boy, you better make this right. You gotta talk to her. She’s going to ignore you and she’s going to be mad but you’ve got to talk to her. What was this secret anyway?”

Adrien finally got the strength to pull his head up to look up at Alya in confusion. “She….Didn’t tell you?”

Alya glared at him for a long moment before she shook her head, brown curls bouncing. “Nope. Said it was between you and her.”

He could have left it that way. They shouldn’t know, they didn’t need to know. There was no reason to drag him and Marinette’s best friends into this. But Adrien stood straighter as a very Cat-like grin spread over his lips. “I’ll show you. But you have to help me first! You have to get Marinette to talk to me.”

Alya blinked at him, glanced at Nino, and then back to him before she bit her lip. For a strong girl like Alya to bite her lip and not want to say her next words caused his stomach to sink and the grin to fall from his face. “What?”

“That’s going to be harder than it looks, dude. Listen, bro, you are my best friend and I love you. I do. But you are not the smartest.” Nino put both hands on his shoulders, stepping in front of him, staring strongly into his eyes. Adrien raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you notice? Marinette was crushin’ on you! Hard!”

His eyes widened and Alya, stepping up next to Nino, finally gathered her words. Her voice was quiet but strong. “Was. Listen, she is still madly in love with you but she’s fighting it. She took all your pictures down, and yes, she had pictures of you plastered all over her room! And….” Alya looked to the school doors before throwing her head back with a groan. “That girl owes me! She’s going on a date later with Luka. To try and forget you. What are you gonna do about it, lover-boy?”

He suppressed the need to say punch Luka in the face and instead tried to focus on one emotion swirling through his body at a time. “Stop her?”

Alya leaned in closer, hands on her hips, and Adrien flushed at the proximity. “You’re going to stop her, prove to her you’re not an idiot, apologize, explain, talk, and maybe finally you two can kiss and release some of that sexual tension we all have to fucking deal with! Agreste, you are going to heal my best friend’s heart or I will post me tearing you apart on the Ladyblog.”

Adrien and Nino watched her flip her hair, hitting Adrien in the nose, before she stalked off to find her best friend. 

“That’s my girl.” Nino whispered, wide smile still following Alya through the school. 

Adrien smiled at his friend. “She’s really something Nino. I’m glad you’ve got each other.”

Nino turned to him, grinning. He held out his hand and Adrien slapped his hand against it, the high-five finally breaking the spell as they began to move towards the school and up the steps. “And you’ve got us dude. I know Alya was harsh, bro, but you’re her friend too. You can fix this. You’re Adrien Agreste!”

Adrien smirked, patting the chuckling Plagg in his shirt pocket. He mumbled so Nino wouldn’t hear, “I’m going to need more than Adrien Agreste. It’s time for the Cat to play.”

And when Nino looked over at his best friend as they climbed the steps to the second floor, heading to Bustier’s class, his eyes widened. A slouching, dejected boy whose eyes had been screaming panic and a blankness that honestly frightened him was gone. In his place was a boy with his hands in his pockets, shoulders loose. His gait had changed from dragging to almost resembling a cat stalking it’s prey. But the thing that made Nino paused outside their classroom door was the tilted smirk on his face, green eyes glowing.


	2. Jealous Cat, Jealous Dog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Secrets are out, feelings are developing, and the Dog has showed up. Can Marinette keep the Cat and Dog from killing each other? And will she give her Kitty the chance to explain himself?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this happened. And, this is a shock to me.....THERE'S A THIRD CHAPTER!? Like, where did thhat third chapter even come from!? Don't worry, it will be posted soon. :) I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

Being Cat Noir had it’s perks, even when he was Adrien. Transforming always left his body with a little extra power in it. Nothing like the entire suit but sometimes he could feel like his eyes were still slitted or feel the feel of his ears atop his head. Today, he was allotted a bit of extra hearing and he was very thankful for this when he and Nino entered Miss Bustier’s class. They headed for the first wooden desk where he let his bag fall beside his chair. For once, Plagg had decided to stay inside Adrien’s shirt pocket and he felt the little God sprite pat his arm every now and then in reassurance.

Discreetly, he patted where he knew the cat to be getting a, “Sentimental brat.” As he took out his textbook and a notebook, he focused, his hearing still a bit extended from the magick of Cat Noir, on the sound of Alya and Marinette’s conversation.

“Giiiiiiirrrrrrlllll, what was up with you and Luka!?” Her whisper was shrill and Adrien winced at the pitch. At least, that’s what he told himself he didn’t like but judging by Plagg’s shaking the little demon thought it was because Luka was mentioned…. “Did he walk you to class?”  
Adrien waited expecting Marinette to stutter and blush her way through it, like she did with him – the cute adorable way her eyes would go wide and she would stammer enough to reveal all the little things in her head. The things Adrien, with a flush, just realized he had actually remembered about her. 

But that wasn’t how her voice sounded. When she spoke, Marinette’s voice didn’t stutter and there was no embarrassment. He could hear the soft tone of her voice, almost wistful, and Adrien almost snapped his pencil in two. “He was just being nice. Luka is….He’s a really good friend! And….” Adrien could feel the heat from his seat in front of her and he tensed his shoulders, his heart pounding. “He asked me out to lunch with him today.”

“WHAT!?”

Alya’s shout echoed but it was probably her slamming her hands on the shared desk with her best friend that had everyone snapping their eyes toward her, her chair clattering to the ground as she stood. Miss Bustier immediately turned from the start of her lesson, and even though she was clearly unhappy, her small smile was gentle.

“Yes, Alya? Anything you want to share?”

Adrien glanced at Nino who had a hand clapped over his mouth to keep from laughing and Adrien smiled, trying not to get caught smiling himself. 

It didn’t take long for Alya to grab her chair and sit back down at the desk. “Uh, no, just got some very surprising news is all. Carry on, Miss Bustier!”

Their professor watched a moment, her teal eyes glancing at all of them before she decided there would be no more outbursts and turned back to the chalkboard to continue her lesson. Adrien immediately returned his hearing to the conversation, knowing what he was doing was wrong but knowing he was too far gone to stop now. Besides, he thought with a smirk, if he knew where the date was, well, who could blame him if a stray cat happened to join the party?  
“Alya!” Marinette’s embarrassment was clear in her voice and he could imagine her covering her face. “Geez, i-it’s not that big of a deal, just –“

“Just a date, Mari, a date!” Alya’s quick whisper was enough for Adrien to clench one hand into his jeans in his lap. He could feel Plagg beating against his chest with his paws, the little kwami laughing so hard he was shaking like a leaf. “Luka Couffaine asked you on a date!”

“We’re not – Alya, no. Wait, w-we’re just friends!” Marinette’s stutter showed her nervousness and Adrien stared at the blank notebook he was sure he should be filling with notes. What was wrong with him? Why did it matter who Marinette went on a date with? Why was he so…..Not jealous of Luka? Why did he want to tackle him to the ground whenever he was near Marinette? “It’s just lunch that we agreed to. As friends. I go to lunch with you and Nino all the time!”

Thinking Alya wasn’t going to respond, Adrien flushed a deep red when she did, her words making his heart flutter. Was it true? “Girl, I thought you were crushing on Adrien. And I’m your best friend. I know I know, the compass. But, Mari, your compass wouldn’t just change. You can’t force it. A compass always points you North so you always find your way home.” He heard Marinette’s hitched breath but Alya was merciless, stabbing him and Marinette both with her words. “Adrien Agreste is your North.”

The small, meek voice was not one he had ever tied to Marinette or Ladybug, this was a girl whose heart was breaking and Adrien came to the decision he wanted to do everything to never hear it again. He heard her take a deep breath but when he heard nothing, he cocked his head slightly to try to get a better angle to listen. He froze, his breathing catching and Plagg practically dying of amusement in his hidden pocket, when Marinette raised her whisper enough for him to hear. “We’ll talk about this later. Nosy cats can’t keep their whiskers out of things that are not their business.”

Marinette – 1. Adrien – 0. He ducked, flushing up to the tips of ears and though her voice was angry and hurt, his heart jumped at the fondness she hadn’t been able to cover up. He felt hopeful. Alya’s confusion was tangible and Adrien tried to focus on Bustier; he didn’t need Alya getting suspicious and snooping too close to his tail for comfort. He was confident Marinette wouldn’t reveal him to anyone and he would take his Lady’s secret to his grave. If there was one thing he could count on it was that no matter how mad or hurt she was at him, she wouldn’t let Paris suffer. She would still meet him for patrols and akuma attacks. She was too considerate, too kind, and Adrien smiled gently, wondering how he had never found the girl behind the mask had been sitting right behind him.

He was jolted from his musings by an elbow to his side. When he looked to Nino, his best friend was gesturing with his eyes over his shoulder towards the girls’ table. Adrien, a bit confused, turned his green eyes to meet Marinette’s bluebell eyes and any previous thoughts of her anger dissipating easily flew out the window. Her stare could have both melted the ice caps and frozen all of the Antarctic. He gulped.

She motioned towards her ears, Alya blinking in confusion between them, then to him and finally mimed a motion Cat Noir would recognize perfectly: she made a cutting motion and he paled, turning back around in his seat. His Bug was threatening to cut his ears off and as much as he wanted to throw back a pun, he kept quiet, trained on the lesson. When Nino nudged him again, his hands open in a ‘what the hell’ gesture, Adrien whispered, “You don’t want to know.”

Nino stared at his friend for a moment before he nodded and whispered back, “Women, bro.”

The rest of their classes passed in a blur. Adrien both dreaded and anticipated the moment lunch hour rolled around and the students were released. An instant knot formed in his stomach when he saw the familiar mop of black hair with blue tips leaning outside their classroom door as the class filed out. He packed slowly, nodding for Nino to go ahead without him. Before he left, Nino gave him a brotherly pat on the shoulder. Both boys shared smiles before Nino dashed to his girlfriend’s side, both staring and watching as Marinette met Luka right outside the classroom door. Adrien clutched his bag to his shoulder tightly, feeling the claws of Cat Noir begging to be released.

Great. Now he was stuck watching them. Adrien felt his heart beating furiously and he narrowed his eyes, glaring at the two laughing friends. Whatever the hell was happening, he really didn’t like it. Marinette was his friend and also his partner in heroics. She was brave and kind, sweet, passionate, and she was sacrificing. There were many things that she was – Ladybug was only one of them – and seeing Luka casually speaking to her like Adrien had tried and desperately wanted to do brought forth a horribly green monster that dug it’s claws into his chest. 

He snapped when Luka brought up a hand to tuck a loose piece of hair behind Marinette’s ear. If he had been a cat, he would have launched himself growling and clawing, tearing out Luka’s eyes. What he actually did – to Plagg’s desperate jerks on his shirt of, “No, Adrien! No!” - was march towards the door, shouldering past Nino and Alya – to Alya’s whisper of, “Ohhhh, this is about to get good.” and Nino’s, “Told you he had it in him, dude!” - and through the classroom door. Shoving right between Marinette and Luka. His shoulder smashed into Luka’s and sent him stumbling back onto his butt. 

When Luka’s ice blue eyes met Adrien’s green and Luka’s mouth fell open, Adrien was sure his eyes were glowing. He couldn’t stop the snarl and it took every bit of his willpower not to bare his teeth. Instead, he glared down at Luka but when he bent down, holding out a hand – and oh did he wish he had claws – to help him up, his voice was congenial and even. “Oh, sorry about that. I guess I didn’t see you. I didn’t mean to claw in.”

He heard Nino and Alya laugh at the pun but what made him really grin was the inhaled gasp behind him. He hoped he made it clear and judging by the tension building behind him, he had. Luka took his hand and Adrien smiled, fake and cutting, as he gripped the older man’s hand tightly. Luka blinked, looking at their conjoined hand shake so much unlike their first – sure Adrien had felt a bit off about Luka but not to this severity and he knew when he sat down to think about it he was going to regret this later. He pulled Luka to his feet with a jerk. Adrien wanted to show him just how strong he was and how badly he would lose if it came to a fight. Because if it came to a fight for Marinette, he wasn’t going to lose.

But to his surprise, Luka gripped back, a friendly smile in place. His ice blue eyes had hardened and Adrien narrowed his gaze. He knew it was an awfully long time to hold Luka’s hand but neither of their grips were loosening even when he heard Nino’s whisper to Alya, “Man, do you think we should, like, pry them apart?”

Adrien inwardly chuckled at Alya’s excited whisper back, “Are you crazy? This is the most exciting thing all year!”

However, Adrien was a superhero and Luka, no matter his age or size difference being a slight head taller than Adrien himself, was no match. His hand began to loosen as Adrien squeezed once more, tight, delighting in Luka’s wince, before he finally let go. Both boys stared each other down before Adrien, sensing something not quite right behind him, turned to face the love of his life. She would always be the girl he was in love with and it stung him in ways he couldn’t admit to that she didn’t believe him when he said he loved her, mask or not. Of course, he hadn’t directly said it to her but he had proved it often. 

He would die for her and he needed her to know it. So he grabbed her hand, ignoring the way she winced and the sharp pain in his heart at the sight, and dragged her down to the first floor of College Francois Dupont. He held her hand tight, ignoring her grumbles of “Stupid cat.” and many other phrases similar to it, as he dragged her through the court. He was mostly used to receiving looks so the passing stares didn’t bother him as he finally pulled her out the school doors and down the steps. 

Gorilla wasn’t there and he knew if he checked his phone he would have plenty of missed calls from them trying to search for him. With this knowledge, and taking a quick calculation of the route he needed, Adrien pulled her behind the school, ducking into a shadowy nook of the building. He placed his palms on either side of her head, pressing her against the creamy-tan colour of the school’s walls. She looked up at him, eyes fierce, completely Ladybug and his heart stuttered. There she was. He stared down at her, feeling Plagg fidgeting anxiously at what he suspected Adrien was about to do.

He whispered, eyes still staring deeply into hers, willing her to see him, really see him. She had always seen him, even when he had never noticed himself, and now he really needed her to just listen to him. “Plagg, Claws Out.”

The moment he uttered the words, he had one clear view of her shocked expression before the transformation took over. He kept his eyes open, hands on the wall, even as the green transforming magick flowed over him. He took in a deep breath when the suit formed around him, tucking his body into a flexibly, indestructible spandex-like leather. He felt his tail erupt from around his waist, flaring to life. He felt the moment his mask materialized because he felt the shift in his eyes, felt the way his pupils fell into slits. His ears twitched to life atop his head and he watched Marinette’s face the whole transformation, smirking at the dark red blush dusting her cheeks. 

Then, he was Cat Noir in front of her and he finally looked down at the ground, at his black, moulded to the suit, boot-clad feet. His claws dug into the wall as he tried to sort out his thoughts. “I –“

At the large explosion in the distance, his head snapped, ears swivelling, as his improved eyes found the sight of billowing smoke off in Paris’ distant skyline. He looked back to Marinette just as her eyes met his, having been drawn to the same sight. They stared at one another. He was willing her to trust him, please trust him, and Marinette trying to decide if it was the right thing to do. But his Bug never disappointed him. 

She murmured, eyes ever leaving his, “Tikki, Spots On.”

And he swore there was never a more beautiful sight. A red light enveloped her, like fairy dust and sparkles. He saw the faint outline of her suit flow into her form, melding around her and he felt his heart twist in his chest at the sight. He watched her eyes even as the mask sparkled across her cheeks and over her nose. Even when the last of the light faded, he couldn’t tear his eyes away as reality crashed into him. He was a freaking idiot. This shy, beautiful girl couldn’t be anything but not just his Bug, his Lady, but she was also the clumsy, amazing girl who had held his deepest friendship and trust all while saving Paris. 

“You’ve got to juggle the heart of an alley cat too.” He murmured, unaware he had even said anything until her eyes blinked up at him.

Finally, she found her voice and the strength in it made his tail twitch. “This isn’t the time or place, Kitty. Maybe…..” He saw her look away and his ears sank slightly. “Maybe later, maybe after the akuma. Maybe after I can think.”

When she looked back at him and noticed his drooped ears, she smiled and everything vanished. That smile. It was the smile of Ladybug in her contemplative moments, when they would patrol the city at night or when they would sit atop the Eiffel Tower and just watch Paris from above. But it was also the smile of the girl who sat behind him in class and who was often to shy to do or say anything but smile at him. So he smiled back, bringing forth everything he had, as Cat Noir and Adrien, and something clicked.

He was never just Adrien. He had always been, at least partly, Cat Noir. He was both. And he poured the love for both sides of the beautiful girl into his smile. Her eyes softened and she blinked quickly, her eyes getting shiny. She reached up a hand, closing it before it could touch him, letting it hover between them before she brought it back to her chest. “Oh, Kitty. We’ll talk, I promise. But right now, Paris needs us.”

He knew that. He knew what his job was. To protect their home. Cat Noir grinned and bowed, one hand over his waist, the other held out toward the direction of the explosion. “After you, M’Lady.”  
As the two heroes darted off towards the explosion, a figure hidden at the back of the school grinned. It was his turn to play. He closed a hand into a fist and when he whispered the words he had learned, a bright, golden light enveloped him.

 

His tail was sticking straight up and if he had fur, he was sure it would have been bristled. The sky, once an open sunny blue, was now littered with gray rainclouds and he could hear the rumbling of thunder. A part of him – the cat part of him – shuddered at the thought of rain and his ears twitched. Cat Noir had assumed the akuma that had almost killed him had been purified. He was shocked to see the large, metallic form of their latest akuma, Webber.

She had no relation to either of them so they had been at a loss as to who exactly she was. However, due to her ranting they managed to piece together between dodges and attacks, that she was deathly afraid of spiders. Apparently, her bratty younger sister had thought it funny to place a container of them in her purse when she, a lonely young woman, went to dinner with a cute guy. Annnnnnd the rest was history. Scared, alone, with no one to comfort her, the young woman had been turned into the metallic spider, Webber, who was just now realizing her “precious kitten” had returned to her. Alive.

She chortled and launched for him with a metallic leg but Cat easily deflected it with his baton. He extended it into the ground, slamming towards the glimmering spider but for a large hunk of metal, she was quick. She easily shot backwards, out of his reach. He and Webber fought for a few moments as he gave Ladybug enough time to form a plan. He knew what she needed him to do before she even said it, and sometimes, she didn’t say anything at all. He just knew. He knew she had needed him to fend off the spider, keep it busy, and if there was one thing Cat Noir was good at, it was being annoying.

He grinned mockingly into the sharp, metallic pools of the akuma, twirling his baton in one hand as if he had all the time in the world. “Did you miss me, purr-ecious?”

Strangely enough, the akuma, hunkered down and staring intently at him, blinked it’s eyes as recognition dawned and it stood to it’s towering height. “My Kitten. You’ve returned! Come to play again?”

He remembered the pain of one of her metallic legs shooting through his shoulder and the wound itself began to hurt. He didn’t wince – never show weakness to an enemy and if Hawkmoth was watching, and he was always watching, then Cat didn’t need to give him any incentive to ramp up the attacks – but he did roll the injured shoulder to try and work out the pain. Master Fu’s words flashed through his mind. He had to be careful or this kitty wouldn’t survive the fight. His enhanced eyesight afforded him the ability to see Ladybug, a flash of red and black spots, quietly creep towards the spider from the rooftops of Paris’ homes. 

She was getting closer and Cat Noir stuck his baton behind his neck, letting both arms hang off it as it extended outwards into more of a staff length. “Sorry but the only one who gets to pet this kitty isn’t you.” 

He got an idea, the spider’s eyes focused on him. He could feel his partner’s attention on both him and the enemy, in case he needed her, and he smirked. His tail twitched in anticipation. This was sure to piss off both Webber, who proclaimed him as her kitten, and Ladybug, who was sure to kill him later. But he needed to say this. He needed to tell her just in case he didn’t get to later. Adrien, Cat Noir; a combination of the two is what faced the spider when his green slit eyes bore into her. 

He shrugged like he was talking to an idiot and not a giant metallic spider that had not only almost killed him but was strangely possessive over him. “As a matter of furr-act, I’ll tell you about her! See, just recently, I found out a scratching secret.” 

He acted like he didn’t see the stumble of her form on the rooftops, now almost completely behind and above the spider, or see her tense from his spot on the street. She was listening. And Webber’s pointed legs were digging into the concrete; she was listening too. “She’s this amazing, beautiful girl who is very mad at me right now. I’ll make it up to her. But she’s the only who can pet me. Be-claws I end up doing this embarrassing thing where I purr and I can’t stop.”

He fought hard to keep his blush down – why did he have that mechanism!? How was purring useful? - but delighted when Ladybug’s form smacked a hand to her forehead. Even from his position and the distance between them, he could see her fighting a smile and her blushing cheeks. He slowly began to pace, Webber’s form vibrating at her building fury. All he had to do was push her over the edge.

It was time for this cat to use his claws. He dropped his arms from his baton and let the weapon hang from his right hand as he walked. “I love her.” He felt his heart pick up, knowing that he did – Marinette, Ladybug, purple unicorn. It didn’t matter. He loved her. And she needed to know it. “Shy, clumsy girl or brave, trusted partner. And see, I gotta protect her from akuma like you. So, sorry, but I don’t belong to you.”

Webber was now growling at him and he slowly bent into a crouch, his baton held out and green orbs watching the akuma intently. His grin never wavered. “I’m her Kitty, not yours. So come and get me!”

Webber wasted no time, her fury palpably heavy in the air. She launched for Cat with a screech and he lifted his baton, twirling it in a quick circle. Webber’s legs were all aiming for him in sharp points and he winced as the pain in his shoulder intensified from the effort of spinning his weapon to keep the legs of the akuma from impaling him. Again. He could feel sweat building on his forehead and he grit his teeth, trying to keep up momentum and give Ladybug enough time to figure out what she needed to do. 

He could vaguely see the sparkles of her Lucky Charm in the air and grinned despite the pain burning in his shoulder, his muscles beginning to throb. Her sharp pointed legs were more like a drill, hammering into his baton, and her screeches had not lessened, making him highly uncomfortable at the last one, “YOU ARE MY PRECIOUS KITTEN! NO ON ELSE SHALL HAVE YOU!”

He growled back, “I know I’m an irresistible cat but I don’t know if I can handle your affection. No thanks, I’ll stick with M’Lady.”

Then, just as he saw Ladybug moving around back towards him on the rooftops, something spotted clutched in her hands, Webber did two things that simultaneously caused his heart to shoot straight into his throat. She opened her fanged mouth and vomited – if he ever found out who Hawkmoth was, he was going to kill him, slowly – spiders onto him and used the side of one of her heavy legs to smack him from the left. His injured shoulder took the hit and he grit his teeth as his baton fell from his grip, clattering to the ground as he fell to one knee. He wasn’t panting but he was winded as he tried to shake the spiders off, his eyes flashing. 

But her next move was even worse. She shot out a gooey, sticky, web-like substance towards Ladybug. He cried out to give her warning but the web encased her, sticking to her form and causing her to become entangled. Like prey. Before he could vault to her side and free her, those pesky little spiders, the ones he hadn’t been able to throw off or dislodge, all simultaneously bit him and his vision began to blur softly at the edges. 

“Now watch, Kitten, as I devour your little friend and take her Miraculous. Then, you will belong to ME!” 

And she launched up to the roof with a frenzied screech to where Ladybug was desperately trying to free herself, her Lucky Charm still clutched in her hands. Cat felt a growl rumbling in his chest as his eyes went completely feral, forcing his mind to focus through the spider’s drug-like bites. He felt the magick of his suit, of Plagg’s destructive force suddenly intensify, pulsing inside his bloodstream. His eyes bled red at the edges and Plagg’s voice echoed from somewhere inside the ring, steady, yet Cat caught the slight tremble in his words.

“Hey, kid, clam down. You need to calm down. We’ll get out of this okay?”

Cat clenched his eyes shut, forcing the haziness of his brain to fade, chanting that he needed to get up and save her. His Princess was in trouble. Who better to save her than her Cat in black leather, magickal spandex? As the fog slowly faded, he felt the legs of the crawling spiders as they itched over his body, digging down beneath the suit. 

He knew Plagg was still there, somehow communicating with him – had this always been possible? “If I take off my suit, will I still be transformed if the ring stays on my finger?”

There was quiet then a guffaw of laughter as Plagg – he could just see the kwami rolling around in the ring – chortled out, “You’ll be naked but you’ll be fine! Oh I wish I had some Camembert to watch this with!”

Cat felt his cheeks darken as he took in a deep breath and reached for the zipper on his suit, beneath his bell. He opened his eyes and glanced up out the corner to see Webber circling Ladybug who was, he noted with pride, staring her down and not the least bit afraid. He smiled. His Bug could hold her own. He pulled the zipper completely down, his body flushing. No one would ever let him live it down but the spiders were all underneath the suit and he had to get them out. So he pulled his arms loose of the suit, keeping hold of his ring. He felt Plagg using his own power to keep the ring on his finger and instead, the kwami phased the suit over it. 

When the top half of the suit fell to the concrete of the street, his bell jingled and Cat looked at it in horror. Oh no. His hair stood on end as he felt two pairs of eyes staring at his half naked form, the only thing keeping his suit on being the fact he was still kneeling on one knee. His baton was lying in front of him, green paw his focus. But he had to look up, he had to distract Webber, get her away from Ladybug so she could find a way out of the sticky web. 

So, disregarding his humiliation, he stood and the suit fell completely to his feet. A sudden screech that was NOT an akuma had his ears falling to his head in embarrassment. Oh yes, they had a lot to talk about later and he was sure, with a chuckle, Marinette would never be able to look him in the eye again. A deep, dark, Cat Noir part of him gloated that she had seen him and that she would never get that far with Luka. He used a clawed foot – the claws weren’t the suit, he physically grew them – to kick his baton up into his waiting hand.

And smashed it against his injured shoulder, the pain shooting through his entire form. His ears trembled atop his head and he squeezed his eyes shut tight. He didn’t cry and he didn’t make a sound but he heard Webber slam into the ground not far from him, cooing at him. “Oh my Kitten, you know Mama doesn’t like to see you hurt.”

He shuddered at her calling herself his mother – his mother would never be an akuma, she was too pure and happy for that, too warm – but drew on everything he had as Cat Noir before he looked up. People loved cute animals, especially pleading, sad animals. His slit, green eyes were wide and glossy. His ears were still trembling, more from pain than sadness, and he hunched his shoulders, his head tilted up towards Webber. Inside, Plagg was laughing so hard he was gasping for air and Cat felt himself flush down to his toes. 

And then he made it worse. He lifted up both hands, each holding a side of his baton in a begging gesture and opened his mouth to let out the instinctive sound. It was a pleadingly, pathetic mewl of a kitten that had been kicked and left for nothing. It was the cry of a boy in a house too large and no one who loved him. It was the sound of a heart breaking. It had the desired effect: Webber grabbed him, naked and all, between two metallic legs and cuddled him to her face. He took a good look at her while he was close enough, looking for clues or something to help Ladybug. When his gaze fell on where she had been trapped in the webs, he smiled in relief when he saw she was no long there. 

And immediately flushed when he realized, again, she had just seen him naked. All of him. Webber’s deep fascination with him was annoying Hawkmoth he was sure, as the purple lines that indicated his speech kept appearing but she only kept coddling and cooing him, even going so far as to pet his head once. Growling, he had nipped at her leg but she had only fawned over him more. Then, so suddenly he was left breathless, she threw him away from her. Rolling on the ground and whimpering at the pain – without his suit his body was taking the beating – Cat rolled into a crouch to see what had happened.

Ladybug was there, on Webber’s back. She was holding on to something with red and black dots – her Lucky Charm which he couldn’t make out at this distance – as the spider tossed and turned, jumping and trying to rear her off. His shoulder throbbed in warning and his vision blurred slightly but Cat darted on all fours towards the fray, determined to help Ladybug. His baton was clutched in his teeth as he ran and when he stood, Plagg must have taken pity on him because the familiar magick coursed over him as his black suit disappeared in green and black sparkles from the ground to mould against his form again. Plagg materialized the ring through the suit and he was Cat Noir again. 

Smirking, he let the baton fall into his hand as he stood, lengthening his baton as he jingled his bell with one end of it. “I’m making a Cat-call for you.”

Webber’s gaze snapped to him and she growled at him. “You naughty naughty kitty. Hawkmoth was right. No one will ever love me…..SO I WILL TAKE AWAY YOUR LOVE MY PRECIOUS KITTEN!”

His heart stopped beating when she lifted a metal leg and drew back, aiming for Ladybug who had just grabbed the akumatized item – a locket buried in between the akuma’s abdomen and her head. He cried out, his ears perked and tail twitching as he reached out an arm, knowing he was too far to save her. One hit with one of those legs at that distance, suit or not, would probably seriously hurt her if not kill her. She looked up, eyes widening as she seemed to realize what was happening. She held up her arms to block the leg just as her eyes met his.

Blue met green and everything slowed between them. He could see her fear and it made his gut clench. He would do anything to be in her place, to wipe away that look of fear. But through the fog of fear in her bluebell gaze he saw the determination glittering like stars. She wasn’t backing down. His body was still moving, trying to reach her, save her, protect her. Every cell in his body demanded it of him but he felt like he weighed a ton with the way time seemed to fade between them. Her blue gazed softened the more their eyes stared and he saw her mouth to him, “Good kitty.” 

The metallic leg was just about to slam into her, breaking not just her body but his entire being when a form landed in-between. Time resumed and Cat skidded to a halt, falling to all fours as he dodged one of Webber’s frantically waving, not-trying-to-kill-the-girl-he-loved legs. A moment later and a form jumped to his side, Ladybug in his arms like a bride and Cat was positive if he had had fur, it would have bristled. Standing straight, his ears fell and his tail flicked in annoyance behind him at the scene. 

Then, his gaze narrowed on the guy’s form and his eyes, usually thick slits narrowed into a tiny sliver. He had the sudden urge to arch his back and claw at the man’s face. Which was hidden behind a mask. A Miraculous mask. Cat Noir paused in his angry perusal and actually gave the new hero – he still didn’t like him – a thorough look-over. 

He was tall. A head taller than Cat Noir himself. Perched atop his black locks were two upright, golden-brown ears. His mask was golden brown, similar in style to Cat’s, with a white diamond shape in the middle and a white line that went down the middle of the mask to the bridge of his nose where his mask ended. The edges of the mask that peeked out from the side of his eyes had three tufts of fur on each side. He had three drops above his eyes that were a white-gray colour. His ice blue eyes stared hard into Cat’s, both seeming to bristle.

He was frowning, almost snarling and Cat Noir was glad they felt the same. Around his neck was a golden brown collar with a dog tag hanging from it that read ‘BARXX’. Attached to the collar was the beginning of his magickal suit, a bit softer looking than Cat’s. A white diamond-like strip went down to the middle of his stomach the rest of the suit over his chest and hips the same golden-brown colour as his mask. From the tops of his shoulders ran a white strip to the beginning of his padded hands – but no claws, Cat thought triumphantly. 

From the front of his hips down his legs to the middle of his padded feet was a white strip. Something flickering in the back of the suit had Cat’s eyes snapping to it. A tail. The man had a thick, fluffy golden-brown tail behind him with a single white strip down the middle. What really caught his attention was the Miraculous on the heroes left wrist: a single dark brown bracelet with golden, ringed, hoops in the middle. The bracelet curved around his wrist with two, gray dog heads a couple of inches from touching. Dog. He was a dog. A Dog Miraculous. A Dog hero.

Cat arched his back, their eyes snapping back to each other at the same time – Cat would have normally made a pun about the drooling beast checking him out but he was too far gone in animalistic instincts – narrowed and harsh. When the Dog growled lowly at him, Ladybug glanced between them quickly and at the locket in her clutched hands, Cat felt the threat in the air, the domination of the mutt before him and he reacted before he could think.

When all eyes – including Webber’s dazed eyes from having her locket stolen and Ladybug’s Lucky Charm embedded in her back – fell to him he finally fell back into reality. Hissed. He had just hissed, his back arched and tail completely standing upright, the tip twitching angrily. A laugh drew both boy’s eyes to the girl in his arms who flipped herself out of them, landing upright on her feet between them, facing Webber. Her yo-yo was in her hands, spinning as she prepared to break the akumatized item in the other. 

She faltered when her eyes met Cat’s probably feral-looking eyes but she turned away and let the locket fall to the ground, stomping on it to break it open. The familiar darkness coated butterfly floated out from the item, dazed, and Ladybug removed the cover of her yo-yo before she tossed it at the butterfly. The yo-yo snapped shut over it’s form before Ladybug caught it in her hand, smiling as she ran a finger in the middle, the yo-yo opening like her namesake’s wings before a white butterfly flew out and up into the open air. Cat refused to take his eyes off Mutt’s form as the Dog wielder watched, for the first time, the purification of darkness.

Ladybug was moving towards Webber’s now human form: a plump woman that was looking around in confusion. A scent was slowly invading his nose and it made Cat want to hiss and screech and claw. A scent that Plagg had smelled earlier. A scent that belonged, he realized, to a boy who made his blood boil. He straightened, sure of what he had just realized as he stalked like the predator he was towards his rival – and he was, in every way, even down to their Miraculous. 

Mutt’s eyes snapped to him and the two stared each other down before Cat sheathed his baton in his lower back, his hands behind his back freely as he watched Ladybug. His eyes unconsciously softened at the way she comforted the distraught woman. It still amazed him he had never seen Marinette in this brave superhero before. She had always been there. “I don’t know how you got the Miraculous or why you thought you were needed but…..” Cat’s slit eyes glanced up at Mutt to find the boy’s ice blue eyes already staring down at him. “You’ll never have the cat-nection we do. Oh, and I’m NOT sorry you’re date won’t be happening. Luka.”

A deep chuckle made Cat’s confident smirk fall slightly just as Ladybug grabbed her Lucky Charm and threw it up, her bright smile lighting up his heart. “Your jealousy is showing. Adrien.”

“You’re barking up the wrong tree, Dog. Go find another girl and leave my Bugaboo alone. Or you’ll regret it.”

They turned their heads to face each other slowly, Cat looking up from beneath golden bangs and Luka looking down from black, blue-tipped hair. “Looks like cats and dogs really can’t be friends. You don’t own her. She isn’t yours you mangy cat.”

“Mutt.”

“Stray.”

“Drooling beast.”

The two were interrupted from their mumbling debate by Ladybug coughing into a fist. Both Cat and Dog looked up to her instantly to find her staring at them with a raised eyebrow, hands on her hips, and a small half-smile. “Are you two done? Because we saved Paris and if we don’t leave soon, I’ll reveal my identity.” She gave a pointed look to Cat and he gulped. Oh, he was so getting neutered later. “And school will be back in session soon. Lunch hour is almost up.” Then, realizing their new hero didn’t actually know they were from the same school, hastily covered her tracks. “I mean, that is, if you go to school! And maybe you don’t eat lunch? B-But anyway! Uh, bug out!”

Then she was flying away, her yo-yo swinging her up into the air and through Paris’ streets. Cat watched her, smiling softly before out the corner of his eye he saw Mutt stepping around him to follow Ladybug. He held out a black clad arm, his clawed hand blocking Mutt from leaving. “This isn’t over.”

At the Dog’s calm smile, Cat felt his fury rise as his tail twitched angrily. “Oh, this was over long before it began. How can you expect to be with her, love her, if you can’t even be yourself with her? You’re always hiding behind that pretty boy face of yours. And we both know that mask is heavier than the one you’re wearing now.”

Cat yowled a sound between a growl and hiss as he launched for the hero – how dare he!? - but he landed on his 4 paws, head snapping up to see Dog bounding backwards over the rooftops with a smirk. He let his gaze linger a moment longer, the flaming spark between the two of them bursting into an angry, jealous flame before Luka turned to follow the girl they both loved. He stood there, claws digging into the cement, slits flashing as he tried to gather his thoughts. He knew he would have a lot of texts and calls searching for him from his father but he already knew what to say. He ate lunch with his friends. No one would question it and he knew Nino would stick up for him without a second thought. 

Letting out a sharp exhale, he stood to his feet, taking out his baton and shooting up into the sky as high as his baton would allow him. He crouched at the top, looking out over Paris, looking for red and black. When his eyes found nothing, he closed his eyes, the gray clouds and the smell of rain approaching doing nothing to calm his nerves. Well, it was time to face his death at the hands of a beautifully strong girl that sat a table behind him in Miss Bustier’s class. 

Balancing expertly on his baton, he stood to his feet and held his arms out before he smirked. And fell. He let himself fall, feeling the rush of the wind against his body before he opened his eyes, grabbed his baton and twirled around it. When his feet hit the ground, he launched forward, heading after Marinette and Luka. Like hell was he giving up. Luka’s words had stung a part of him he would never show and his shoulder was aching, sending sharp bursts of pain through him, but there was no way he was leaving Marinette in Luka’s paws. 

If the Dog wanted to cat-fight, Cat thought with a wide smirk, then he was about to get it. 

 

“Uh, erm….” 

Adrien smirked knowingly at the way Marinette wouldn’t meet his eyes, her cheeks a dark red flush as she fidgeted before him. As luck would have it, he had been paired with her for Miss Bustier’s literature project. Nino and Alya, situated behind them, were whispering conspiratorially but Adrien knew the reason for her embarrassment. After all, it wasn’t everyday even as a model he showed that much skin and especially to a girl he loved. He put an arm over the back of the chair she was debating sitting in as the rest of the class chattered and paired up with their partners.

Looking around and seeing she was one of the only ones still standing, and receiving a death glare from Chloe, Marinette sighed deeply as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders and slunk into the seat. Adrien removed his arm from the seat, knowing if he left it there she would only be more uncomfortable. But this gave them time to talk. He knew he couldn’t bring up everything they needed to say right now but there were some things he had to say even if she only listened. 

As she set her literature book between them and flipped to the page they needed, he watched her from the corner of his eye, smiling gently at the focused expression he knew so well. When her eye twitched, she huffed and leaned over her notebook, scribbling something quickly, before she shoved it towards him. At the top of the page in flowing, curly script that he realized suited her were the words: What are you staring at Kitty?

The affectionate name had been erased and rewritten multiple times before she must have decided there was no point in hiding it any more. He grinned, pulling the notebook to him as Marinette actually focused on her work, pulling out another notebook from her bag beside her chair. As he scribbled out the words, he could see her fidgeting with her pen, chewing on the end and glancing at him frequently. When he slowly placed the notebook in front of her, her eyes widened as her cheeks darkened to the reddest he had probably ever seen them.  
You. Wondering if you liked what you saw earlier. ;)

Finally, with a weary glare to him, she scooted her chair closer to his and the two hunched together. To the outside world it looked like they were studiously working but judging by Alya’s loud smacks to Nino’s arm and her loud gasp, she thought differently. He was careful, making sure no one was close enough to actually hear them or listening too intently – Alya – before he mumbled to the girl who was trying her hardest to work and ignore him.

“We have a lot to talk about, Bugaboo.”

“Don’t call me that.” Her response was habitual, always telling him this as Cat Noir and she seemed to realize this when she paused in her writing. She gave him glare as if her response was his fault and he only grinned wide. “I don’t know if I want to talk to you.”

Adrien turned to his blank notebook and began to work out of the shared literature pages, flipping them a couple of times to find what he needed. “Judging by the 10 missed calls from Natalie, you’ll be lucky if you ever see this cat again.”

Usually when he brought up his family, he always felt Marinette’s sad eyes boring deep holes into him but not this time. Instead, her hand found his underneath the table, clutching at his jeans. Her soft hand was accentuated by the sewing callouses on the tips of her fingers as she laid her small hand over his. He looked over at her but she ignored him, the tips of her ears red. Still, she mumbled, “I’m sorry, Adrien. We do, uh, need to talk. Maybe….” 

She looked up at him hesitantly, almost fearful of asking him, and he knew whatever it was he was going to do it instantly. No matter what it was. He turned his hand up, the tips of their fingers touching and their palms gently pressed together. “I can swing by later?”

Adrien and Marinette immediately pulled away the moment he snorted out a laugh and focused on their work, feeling Miss Bustier’s eyes on them. When the danger passed and she instead turned to confront Kim for flirting with Chloe and the following outburst, Adrien smirked and when her eyes met his, he gave her a wink pleased to see the little smile pulling at her lips. “My puns are rubbing on you, Princess. You can swing in my window any time you want. I’ll always leave it open for you.”

He could tell she was embarrassed by the way she ducked into her schoolwork and he nudged her with his elbow, writing a couple of passages for their project. “Can you do something for me, for your kitty?”

She looked up at him from beneath dark lashes, her curiosity piqued by the way she leaned her head slightly closer. He leaned closer, his breath washing over her ear and behind him he was sure he just heard Alya snap a photo and Nino’s whispered, “Whoa, go bro.”

“Don’t go.”

Two words but when he leaned back, staring at his notebook, refusing to look up, he knew when she realized what he meant by the tensing of her body. A moment later, “Why?”

Adrien clutched his pencil so tight he could hear it cracking, his eyes narrowing at the small amount of words on the paper. Well, how was he supposed to focus when he was paired with his Bug!? “Don’t go on your date with Luka.”

He could feel her shoulders tightening and his body responded in kind, his shoulder making him wince in pain when it gave a particular painful throb. “Why shouldn’t I?”

He took a deep breath. Now or never. “Because….I love you. Mask or not. And,” He lifted up a hand to run it through his blond locks, frowning anxiously. “I want to give us a chance. Me and you. At least wait….Until after we Chat.”

When he felt her shaking, his wide eyes snapped to her, afraid he had made her cry – had she really liked the Mutt that much!? – but instead he found her covering a large grin that was threatening to burst out into laughter. She looked at him, her eyes wide in wonder and mouth slightly parted as if she couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing. “Are you….Jealous?”

Adrien flushed and looked back down at his notebook. He nodded. “Well, yeah. I guess. I mean, don’t you notice the way he looks at you?”

Adrien couldn’t help but glance up at her through narrowed eyes and his green eyes must have been precariously close to slits judging by the boiling fury flowing through him and her wide-eyed stare. But he tensed, his shoulder protesting, when he saw Marinette’s mouth drop open and her cheeks naturally rosy hue fade to pale white. Her eyes wide she whispered, “What?”

Adrien blinked quickly before he chuckled behind a hand, looking at her with a quirky smile. “What did you think he meant when he asked you out?”

Marinette flushed and glanced down at her notebook, scribbling some words down before she flipped back to the original page in her textbook. “Well, I asked him but we agreed as friends…...” he saw her fingers tighten around her pen. “I….I was mad when I asked. And hurt. But,” She looked up at him, blue searching green for something and she must have found it when she smiled. “Let’s talk later. I promised you, Kitty. I’ll be there.”

Adrien grinned, his heart fluttering in his chest as he gave her the brightest smile he could muster, making her drop her pen with a squeak. He leaned over, grinning, to whisper, “Don’t keep me waiting this time Princess.”

For the rest of the class Adrien enjoyed seeing how red he could make Marinette’s cheeks go. This resulted in her pinching his side multiple times, knowing he was ticklish there, and the two relaxed around each other, the tension between them abating. Adrien spent a lot of the time focused on Marinette but when his eyes flicked back to Alya and Nino, he found himself grinning even wider. He would make sure to get on Alya’s good side for those photos of him and Marinette. She must have taken thousands, probably to tease her best friend later. 

He was quite happy to see Nino and Alya’s hands joined atop the table as they worked, the two laughing and joking. It wasn’t until the bell was about to ring and Marinette was distracted with putting away her things, that he saw the familiar mop of black hair waiting outside their classroom door. When Marinette’s hand touched his arm, he jolted, not realizing how tense he had become. His body was as tight as an arrow being drawn back to fire. 

He looked apologetically at her, feeling Plagg’s shaking in his shirt pocket indicating exactly what his kwami thought of the whole thing. He gathered up his bag, taking a deep breath to prepare to deal with what awaited him when he made it to Gorilla’s car. Natalie was going to be there, probably make him speak to his father in the car, and he was most definitely going to be grounded. He stood up as soon as the bell sounded, a plan forming in his mind. Smirking, he waited until Marinette and Alya were about to walk through the classroom door before he sidled up between them, Nino chuckling behind him when he caught on.

He placed a hand around Marinette’s waist, his hand on her hip. It was risky and intimate but when they passed through the door, Alya practically screaming and pushing them through it, Adrien met Luka’s eyes with a confident grin. He spun to face Marinette who was blinking in shock between the two of them, her cheeks flushed. He leaned down, their breath mingling and he heard multiple choruses of their classmates voices as they witnessed the spectacle, a very distraught Chloe screeching in the background. 

All he wanted to do was kiss her, she was so close. But he settled, keeping to his plan, of kissing first her right cheek, lingering on the smoothness of her skin. Then he slowly leaned to the other side and kissed her other cheek before he straightened. Marinette’s eyes were large and staring up at him in a mix of shock and pleasure, making his blood ignite and suddenly, all he wanted to do was kiss her lips. He wanted to feel her against him but before he could irrationally act on this, Luka stepped up next to her and Adrien’s eyes snapped to meet him, already frowning. 

The boys glared at each other, Luka’s ice blue orbs intense. Adrien looked at Marinette, ignoring the dog as Plagg hissed quietly in his shirt pocket. He waved to all his friends watching them with anticipation and chuckled when Nino winked at him, holding a literally jaw-dropped Alya’s arm to keep her steady. He turned, lithely climbing down the stairs like the cat he was, a grin on his face. Now, it was up to Marinette. He left it up to her. If she showed, they would talk. If she didn’t….He slowed his pace, glancing up to see Alya shaking Marinette furiously who was standing stock still with her wide eyes. If she didn’t show, his heart would be utterly destroyed. His grin faded to a small smile. 

He didn’t think it was possible to stop loving her. So no matter how much his heart ended up destroyed, the feelings weren’t going anywhere. He turned, heart heavy, and headed out into the dark gray of Paris' skies.


	3. Forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The culmination of emotions and events all build up to the finale between Adrien and Marinette.

The clouds had darkened since lunch and it looked like rain was going to start pouring down any minute, thunder rumbling in the clouds. The air was thick and heavy with the coming storm but when his eyes fell on silver-blue car waiting for him, he knew something worse than rain awaited him inside. 

Slouching, he made his way down the steps, hearing the chatter of students as they all mingled and just once, his heart pinged with the thought he could never have that. He always had somewhere else to be or his Father wanted him locked up in that cold house. He was never free unless, ironically, he wore the mask of Cat Noir. Just as he reached the car, Natalie stepped out and motioned for him to climb in. As he crawled over the seat to the other side, he leaned his head against the cool glass of the window, staring up at the dark storm clouds.

When Natalie climbed in and the car began to move, he spoke. “How much trouble am I in?”

“Quite a lot, Adrien. Your spectacle this morning, avoiding answering my calls, not showing up at the car for lunch. Your Father isn’t happy.”

Adrien didn’t mean to but he had no control over the humorless chuckle, feeling the biting sting of tears behind his eyes. “When do I ever make him happy?”

Inside the hidden pocket of his button up shirt, he felt Plagg curling up, the little God trying to comfort him. He didn’t turn his head but he didn’t have to. Natalie sighed and the sound was both wistful and lost that he found his gaze falling to her. She had removed her glasses, looking at them in her lap, and he saw the way her hair was sticking up in all directions, her usual suit crumpled and wrinkled. When his gaze fell to her black heels to see them scuffed and muddy, he swallowed back the tears, back the loneliness, back all the emotions threatening to swamp him and scooted closer. Closing his eyes, his head fell to her shoulder.

She tensed in seconds but Adrien smiled, a sort of dark warmth coursing through him. He was lonely but he wasn’t alone. “Thanks, Natalie. I’m….Really sorry about this morning. I didn’t mean anything I said to you.”

He felt her relax only slightly before she smoothed out her ruined suit, the action habitual as she fingered her glasses, also a nervous tick he knew she had. “Your Father….He loves you, Adrien. I know he doesn’t….Show it. But he does.” 

Adrien’s heart hurt for Natalie. She didn’t know. She wasn’t there when Gabriel Agreste had pushed his son away from him, shouting that if only Adrien had been better, had been more, had listened more, than Emilie, than his Mother, would still be with them. Angry and hurt and betrayed, Gabriel had pushed his own son away and Adrien knew that his Father probably hadn’t meant it. Recently, they had even begun to bond again but all Adrien could remember was the look in those cold, emotionless eyes: disappointment. And the look was still there, digging into Adrien’s heart with claws that struck deeper than Cat Noir’s claws could ever reach.

He felt Gorilla take a turn and he closed his eyes, the rain finally beginning to lightly fall over the City of Love. And he could just imagine, his head on Natalie’s shoulder, that he was a little boy again. His life was perfect again, it was only a storm, and he would be okay. He would be okay. He chanted the words inside his mind as the rain riled up the cat inside him, making him a bit uneasy, more forlorn for what he had lost.

“I do everything I can. To be a good son. But it’s never enough.” Adrien wasn’t sure why he was even talking but the words kept spilling out into the silence of the car. “Between piano and English and fencing, I don’t have time to be a teenager. All I want is to be me, be 15, be with my friends. I’m sorry I didn’t show up at the car but….” Adrien pushed the hot burn of the lie down. “I had lunch with Nino and my friends. My friends, who I never see because I’m not good enough for my Father. Because I have to be better, more. Adrien Agreste isn’t enough.”

He felt Natalie tense before the woman took in a sharp inhale. The next thing he knew, her arm was around his shoulders, holding him to her and it didn’t take him long to recognize he was trembling. It took even less time to realize his breathing was heavy, shaky, and that his eyes were burning from holding back his tears. Her hold was tight and Adrien squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his hands into fists in his lap when he felt the cold of her fingers. Exactly how long had she been looking? Her…..Gorilla…..But not his Father. 

Like a damn being burst open, a single sniffle was the only warning before the tears flowed free. It was just one and he breathed shakily in before the next two fell down. Natalie’s messy head fell against his own and he sniffled thickly. He could feel Plagg in his hidden pocket shifting restlessly, the little kwami hugging his chest as much as he could and Adrien’s lightened at the fact that this powerful, Godly creature gave a damn about him. But not his Father.

“Adrien Agreste is more than enough.” He didn’t comment on the way her voice was breathy and quiet and she didn’t comment on his hot tears soaking her shoulder. “I…..I can never replace your Mother, Adrien, nor will I try. But I do love your Father. And you. He’s still healing but I promise you, one day soon, he will get what he seeks and all will be right again. Just give him time. He’s sorting out his feelings.”

He remembered Marinette’s harshness towards him the night of his injury and the way she was warming back up to him and he lifted a hand to wipe away the tears from his face as he muttered, “He has feelings?”

He smiled when Natalie huffed but he felt her cheeks stretch into a small smile from her head atop his. “Don’t speak about your Father that way.”

Adrien took a deep breath to clear his muddled brain and got a whiff of lavender and ocean, smiling as Natalie’s familiar smell washed over him. A calm flowed through his veins like rushing water. For the first time in a long time since his Mother’s disappearance and becoming Cat Noir, he felt free as Adrien Agreste. He leaned up, sniffling, blinking in surprise when, as the car came to a red light, a package of wet wipes were being shoved in his face by a very large hand. 

Adrien smiled as he took them. “Thank you Gorilla. I’m….I’ll be okay. I’m sorry I worried you. I know…..” Adrien looked at the package as he took out a couple of wipes. “I know I’m going to be in big trouble, grounded for life trouble, but for tonight, can I please just skip my extra lessons? I just want to be Adrien without the Agreste name following behind me. Please, just one night, to be a teenager and stay in my room and play something other than my piano?”

As he wiped his face then his nose with the first wipe, the car began to move and Gorilla grunted which Adrien took as an affirmative to his statement. He turned playful, glowing green to Natalie who was looking out the window, hands folded neatly in her lap, ever the professional. But her eyes were gazing at him from the corner and he felt a Cat Noir grin stretched across his lips. “Gorilla agrees! Or, I could just go do teenage boy stuff, you know.”

There was no way he should have been as pleased as he was about the small blush he managed to draw out of Natalie’s pale complexion when she caught what his meaning was. She coughed into a hand, her other one tapping against her leg. “Well, I’ll speak to your Father when we return. He will decide, Adrien.”

Adrien’s humor deflated but he held onto the small bit of elation he had recovered. Natalie prompted him for the wipes he had used and tossed them into a pull-out garbage tin from her door – when had that been there? He felt Natalie relax when he leaned back against his seat, a small smile on his face, his eyes closed as the car rumbled towards the Agreste mansion. The rain hitting the roof of the car was a muted patter but it caused him to feel both irked and slightly comforted. His Mother had always loved rain, said it brought new things and growth. 

He reached over, his fingertips grazing the sleeve of Natalie’s suit where he gripped it gently. He took a breath, his Mother’s laughter in his ears and her bright green eyes – his eyes – fading into his mind as he told the wonderful woman sitting next to him, knowing she needed to her it. “You aren’t my Mom. But you’re just as important to me, Nat.”

He ignored the small, quiet sob on her exhale before the hand near his gripped his, her hand cold against the heat of his feline-like body. “Mon garçon.”*

Feeling the car slowing to a stop, Adrien lifted his head up, watching as Gorilla grabbed the umbrella next to him and opened his door. He grunted and grumbled as the rain hit his large form before he opened up the umbrella and shut his door. He made his way to Natalie’s side, opening her door for her and holding the umbrella above her. She gave him a grateful nod before turning and suddenly Adrien found both of his guardians looking at him. 

Their eyes were warm and smiles danced on the edges of their lips and it almost looked like coming home. For once, those gates felt like a place he wanted to go instead of a hateful, lonely prison. He swallowed past the lump in his throat and stepped out beneath the umbrella, Natalie shutting the door behind him. The rain was falling harder now and the steady drumming of it hitting the ground was a nice drown out so he didn’t have to think. The smell of falling rain was fresh, slightly sweet, purifying, and he took a deep inhale.

As he walked, Natalie on his right and Gorilla on his left, Adrien felt like for once, it didn’t matter that he was an Agreste. He was Cat Noir, free, without the mask. So as soon as those black gates opened, Adrien grinned, gave Plagg inside his shirt a pat in warning, and darted out from beneath the umbrella. He heard Natalie’s shout for him but he threw his arms out, his head tilted to the rain. It washed over him, soaking into his clothes and over his body, beating away everything that hurt him. He wanted to stand out there longer but Plagg’s frantic movements in his pocket and the cat inside him demanded he move so he rushed to the mansion’s large wooden doors, grinning, even as his body was soaked.

As Natalie joined him, opening the door for them to pass through, her smile and raised eyebrow caught him off guard. “So this is why you had wet clothes in your room.”

Remembering why he had them, Adrien nodded, playing along. It wasn’t a lie, after all, he had been out in the rain. As Cat Noir. Natalie seemed to buy it with a shake of her head as they entered the foyer, the intricate black design on the floor being warped by the water falling off of Adrien’s body. He delighted in leaving behind a reminder for his Dad that he did actually have a son. The white of the foyer made it appear much larger than it was, the stairs in front leading up to his room. Scattered throughout the room were strips of black marble speckled with white flecks. Thick, white columns supported the estate and behind him were two large, potted red plants that were almost taller than him beside the front doors. 

He stopped his perusing of his home and yelped when a towel fell over his head and a large hand scrubbed, drying him off. He tried to squirm but the other hand attached to Gorilla’s hulking body was holding him still. As the towel passed over his face to his chest, he saw the small smile on the bulky bodyguard’s face. Once he was no longer soaked, Gorilla stood to his towering height. He and Natalie shared a look before the woman smoothed out her hair and suit as best she could before gesturing for him to follow her. Adrien followed, his school bag hitting his leg as he climbed the steps. 

When they reached the portrait, she faced him. “Wait here. I will go speak to your Father.” She hesitated and before Adrien could react, she leaned close. Her lips touched his forehead, leaving behind a warmth that spread throughout all of him, before she turned and headed towards his Father’s office. When she disappeared and he couldn’t see Gorilla, he peeked into his shirt, discreetly keeping his gaze mostly up so it didn’t look suspicious. 

He could still see Plagg’s eyes narrowed at him, tail twitching in annoyance. “I want two whole wheels of Camembert you monster.”

Adrien smiled, his eyes soft and his smile apologetic. “Sorry Plagg. You can have whatever you want, I promise. Thanks, for earlier.”

Plagg turned away, his nose in the air, but his black cheeks were dusted slightly pink and Adrien smiled wider. “Yeah, sure, whatever kid…..Anytime.”

Before Adrien could reply, he heard the clicking of Natalie’s heels approaching and he mussed the collar of his shirt, acting like he had been fixing it. When he met her eyes behind her glasses, his heart dropped. “Let me guess….I’m grounded for life, extra language lessons, and piano first thing tomorrow?”

Natalie looked at the ground and Adrien snorted. “No, worse than that. What, what else can he –“

Adrien tensed, his entire body freezing so tightly, his shoulder went numb with pain and he grit his teeth to keep from crying out. Natalie confirmed his suspicions quietly. “You are banned from school and your friends for a week. During this time, you will be tutored privately and extensively by myself. Your Father will oversee your piano lessons.”

Adrien spun, heading towards his bedroom door, his heart lost somewhere in the marble of the foyer and his Father’s disappointment. He paused when Natalie continued, her voice getting stronger. “But if I incorporate your lessons every day after school and during lunch hour, he will allow you to continue. Your friends, however, are banned from the premises still for a week and you are to come straight home.”

Adrien’s grin split his lips. He dropped his bag outside his bedroom, rushing down the stairs to tackle Natalie around her waist in a tight hug. He knew he shocked her by the sputtering the collected woman had never done but he didn’t care. She may not have been his Mother, and no one could replace her in his heart, but she was important to him. She fought for him and that was enough. When he pulled away, her cheeks were dark and she was staring off at a wall of the foyer, her body taut. He leaned up and kissed both of her cheeks, grinning, and spun to rush into his room as he shouted, “Thank you Natalie, thank you! I’ll do everything, anything you ask!”

He threw open his door, leaving his bag outside, knowing a new one would be there by morning, his books salvaged. He looked towards his bathroom and shrugged. He could do with a hot shower. Plagg flew out of his pocket, stretching and darting towards his cheese supply in the gray cabinet with Adrien’s globe on it. The kwami phased through it and Adrien chuckled fondly when he heard the shout of, “My precious!”

Adrien shrugged off his white button up shirt and let it fall to the floor with a wet splat. He grabbed the hem of his t-shirt and pulled it over his fit stomach and chest. As he tossed it over with his shirt, he reached to unbutton his pants. When the jeans fell to the floor, he leaned down and grabbed his clothes, preparing to take them to his hamper in the bathroom. All hell broke loose the moment a red form swung into his room from his open window, rolling like a ball across the floor, until she stood to her feet, hands on her hips and confident smile in place. 

She looked around his room until her gaze fell on him. She blinked, then blushed as red as her suit when she realized he was, once again, almost naked. He grinned, Cat Noir poking through. “If you wanted to see more, all you had to do was ask.”

She screamed. Not a gentle, embarrassed squeal or her usual Marinette jabber. No, she screamed and he couldn’t help the loud laugh when her pig tails shot up in the air from her embarrassment, like steam coming out of a train. She spun around, sputtering, hands over her eyes. “Ad-Cat, um, clothes…! Naked – NO! Um, I’ll just –“

She didn’t waste time as she gestured with a hand near the white couch facing his TV and promptly hurried over, flopping into it and hunching in on herself. He could feel the heat from her blush as he walked towards his bathroom, smile wide. It didn’t matter he was only in his boxers or that it was going to be horribly awkward. She came. She came to him, she came to talk. She wasn’t with Luka. As soon as his bathroom door shut, he fell back against it, dopey smile and heart pounding, as he realized the fact she had chosen him. At least for now, she was willing to talk to him, sort everything out.

He took a deep breath as he moved from the door and pulled out a hamper from underneath his bathroom sink, the long cabinets stretching across a whole wall. He stuffed them in and pulled open a drawer in the top of the cabinets. And groaned. He only had one set of pajamas left. A black pair of pants with glowing green paw prints and a black shirt with a giant green paw print on the front. He looked at the closed door then back to the set, debating if he just walked out in his boxers if she would talk to him.

Deciding that, no, knowing Marinette, she wouldn’t. She would flee out his window and his chance would be gone so, flushing, he pulled on the pants and threw on the shirt. 

“Um, I can later come back…..I mean, uh, come later back? No, uh….” Her voice was soft and hesitant through the door separating them.

And everything drained through him in that moment. So maybe it was the fading adrenaline, the fading words of the Dog, or maybe he just didn’t want to see her turn away from him – everyone always left him, everyone always chose not to love him – that he padded to the door and threw it open, gathering Marinette in his arms. She was a bundled, blushing mess in his arms, sputtering against his neck and he just squeezed his eyes shut, burying his head in her shoulder, willing her to understand. 

And she did. She always did. Ladybug or Marinette. She understood him without ever needing words. Her small struggling stopped. She wasn’t relaxed but she wasn’t squirming any more and instead she shoved a hand out from between his tight hold and began to thread her fingers softly through his golden hair. His shoulders instantly dropped as everything drained away, leaving only him and her. He swallowed past the thick lump in his throat but before he could try to gather the ability to speak, Marinette shook her head.

They didn’t speak. He held her to him and she let him, her hand, once a gentle pressure, now carding through his locks with a passion he knew lied in everything she did. Her fashion designs, her school work, saving Paris. All of it held tiny bits and pieces of her heart, the heart that stood up to Hawkmoth every time he terrorized Paris, and unconsciously he felt the words break through his dry mouth with a breathless chuckle. “You’re amazing.”

Her hand fumbled in his hair and slowly came to pause at the nape of his neck, fingertips hot against his skin. The world disappeared but the two of them. It was Adrien and Marinette, two fated souls. 

“Ugh, there are so many rooms here why am I stuck in the same one as you two lovebirds…..” A grumbling voice rumbled out.

Adrien instantly glared at the floating, arms crossed kwami that was glaring at them when Marinette pulled away as if burned by him. She stared at the floor, her hand previously weaving through his hair in her own, twisting around one of her blue-black pigtails. She was wearing the red and black spotted suit, her mask covering her face, but it was completely Marinette standing before him. Adrien rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, if only to not pull her missing warmth back into him. “Ignore him, he gets like that. He just hasn’t had enough Camembert and doesn’t know the meaning of privacy.”

Plagg was offended by the harsh twitching of his tail and when the kwami’s eyes gained a bright light, Adrien knew he was in trouble. He wasn’t disappointed. “Oh, but it’s not private when I have to hear you moan on and on about how much you love Ladybu –“

He probably flew across the room to grab his kwami in a fist, smothering the God’s outraged cries. But when Plagg bit him, Adrien yelped and let the little sprite float out of his reach. The traitorous Miraculous flew to hover over Marinette’s shoulder who was trying not laugh, her eyes sparkling as she glanced between kwami and Chosen. “See!? Do you see how mean he is to me? Oh, woe, what have I done to deserve this? Just….Just give me Camembert and let me die in peace….”

Adrien glared, feeling his mortification flush through his cheeks. “That can be arranged you mangy cat.”

Plagg only stuck his tongue out, harrumphed, and turned with his nose in the air, Marinette’s giggles causing Plagg’s ears to flicker at the sound. “And he calls me a mangy cat.”

Adrien threw his arms up in the air and lifted his head, glaring up at his large ceiling. “Plagg, if you don’t shut up, I’m going to strangle you!”

When Adrien looked back towards the girl he loved and the kwami he only sometimes loved, he found a sight that melted him, knowing in a second just how much control Marinette had over him. Plagg had his chin stretched out, head tilted slightly upwards. His green eyes were closed, his ears tilted backwards. His tail was loose, drooping and his arms hung loosely in front of him, feet dangling. Marinette had lifted a finger to gently scratch beneath his chin, the small cat kwami’s purr rumbling and mixing with the sounds of rain hitting Paris. 

Adrien smiled. Plagg was just as smitten as he was with her, and he wondered, not for the first time, if her heart could even melt Hawkmoth’s. Then he decided he didn’t want her getting close enough to find out. Slowly, he moved to stand next to her, their arms almost touching, as he murmured, eyes gazing softly down at her. “He likes you.”

Marinette’s wide, happy grin made his heart do a funny flip, like waiting on a roller coaster and seeing the long fall right before you surrender to it. He gulped. When her bluebell eyes gazed up at him, her finger having moved from Plagg’s chin to behind his ears, her smile faltered. Their eyes met, the sound of rain and purrs and the weightlessness of falling stretching between them. Her smile turned softer, less wide and curved. It made her face lighten, her eyes sparkle a bit more, and Adrien coughed, turning away to keep from letting his emotions play out over his face. He had to play it cool, talk first. 

“Spots Off.” 

His head snapped right back to her, eyes wide, at the blatant show of trust he was once again being witness to. The sparkling, red, black, and white of her transformation started at her feet, consuming the suit as it rose. Her civilian clothes lie underneath – he looked fondly at the cute, pink and fluffy slippers adorning her small feet. The sparkles revealed her pale legs and he took a deep breath to keep from staring, following the removal with his eyes. She was revealed to be wearing shorts when the de-transformation hit her hips. They were loose and pink with white dots and a white tie in front.

The process trailed up her toned stomach and her chest – he averted his eyes, thank you! - revealing a two-sizes-too-big t-shirt that was pink, like her slippers, with a red ladybug in the middle. It hung off her shoulders but fell to the middle of her shorts, loose and large. And Adrien’s heart stuttered. She looked so small, vulnerable, in that too large t-shirt as she reached up to grip her arm. She looked to the floor when her mask disappeared, her head bent. Out of her black earrings spiralled a red kwami with a large black dot on her forehead, two black dots on her cheeks, large expressive blue eyes, and a – what was that? A tail? A three feathered tail? 

He didn’t have to wait long before the red kwami saw him and squealed, slamming into his cheek with a force that had him stumbling back a step. “Adrien! It’s so nice to finally meet you! In person!”

The little kwami pulled back, bright smile in place, eyes twinkling. “I’m Tikki!”

Adrien laughed and nodded, lifting up a finger for Tikki to shake. “I’m, uh, Adrien. It’s nice to meet you, Tikki. So you’re Ladybug’s kwami?”

Tikki nodded, her head bouncing back and forth like a bobble head, and Adrien smiled in amusement. Tikki reminded him so much of Marinette, he knew those two got along great. “Yes! She’s a wonderful Ladybug – the best!”

Adrien didn’t waste a second to nod and agree. “I agree. We’re going to be good friends, Tikki. Is there anyway I can replace Plagg with you?”

Tikki giggled, spinning in mid-air with her little paws held to her cheeks. She zoomed up to Marinette, looking behind at him with a smirk as she told her currently holding-her-head-in-her-hands Chosen, “I see why you like him Marinette! Don’t worry.” The little kwami patted Marinette’s head, her eyes gentle. The compassion in them, held for the same girl he harbored feelings for, left his chest feeling tight yet warm. “Go and talk to him.”

Marinette lifted up only her eyes and Adrien chuckled behind a hand at the red completely coating her face. A shy smile broke out over her lips, timid, and he held out a hand, tilted at his waist as if he was asking her for a dance. He was asking for much more than that. He wanted her heart. “Shall we go and talk, M’Lady?”

Maybe it was his Cat Noir showing or the love he knew must be shining in his eyes, but whatever it was, her hands fell away from her face and the shy, timid girl was replaced by a still blushing yet determine-eyed girl. She reached out, her hand falling against his perfectly. When he enclosed her hand, there was no space between them, a perfect fit. Her warmth infused his body and brought him to life as he stood to his full height. He held her hand, holding their hands between them, their eyes meeting. It was a soft, understanding, warmth-filled look that created a bubble around them. So lost in their own little world, the two didn’t notice Tikki flying off into Adrien’s room, looking for something. 

The little kwami’s heart beat fast as she looked for any sign of black, any sign of green slit eyes, any sign of her partner, her other half. It didn’t take long before his black form crashed into her and the two kwami twirled in the air. Tikki found her head nuzzling and pressing into Plagg’s shoulder, her antenna drooping behind her at the feel of being next to him again. He was trembling only slightly, his ears twisted to the side and his tail curling around her, holding her more firmly into him. 

The two kwami let their power flow between them: creation and destruction. Life and Death. Tikki was the first to pull back, her little paws gripping her partner’s face, eyes bright and glossy. Plagg was staring back, a small purr beginning in his chest. “Hi, Plagg.”

Plagg snorted but a small smile showcasing tiny fangs erupted. “Is that all you’ve got to say? The last we saw each other was when our two idiots were stuck in that metal crate with Dark Owl demanding their Miraculouses.”

Tikki grinned, her eyes quickly flicking to the couple now making their way to the white couch, Adrien still holding Marinette’s hand. Tikki’s smile softened. “We can’t change Fate, Plagg. Don’t you remember….”

Plagg’s tail tightened. “I remember. I remember why Ladybug and Cat Noir don’t reveal their identities.” He looked down at her and Tikki’s heart went out to her soul mate when she saw the scrunched eyebrows and worried green gaze. “I don’t want to lose him Tik.”

Tikki brought Plagg’s nose to her own. “You won’t. We won’t let it happen again. We will protect them. I’ve….” Tikki looked over one last time to Marinette’s smiling, blushing face. “I love Marinette too.”

Plagg nodded against her hold and the two kwami floated in the air, slowly twirling around the room, their powers, their love, their thousands and thousands of years encasing them together. “That stupid kid is gonna be the death of me.”

Tikki giggled. “But you love him anyway.”

“I love you more.”

Adrien smiled, happy, at seeing Plagg’s face as Marinette’s kwami, Tikki, held the cat by his cheeks, their noses touching and eyes connected. It was the happiest he ever remembered seeing the little God and Adrien couldn’t help his giddiness at knowing Plagg could finally be happy. It wasn’t long – it never was – before his gaze dropped to his Princess. She was watching them too, her lithe knees tucked under as she faced the back of the couch, her arms resting on the back. Her chin was resting on her hands, a gentle smile tugging at her lips, strands of hair hanging loose and hanging by her cheeks. 

Adrien was sitting turned to the side, one arm over the back of the couch as he watched their kwami’s, and the other, his injured shoulder, hanging loose and relaxed. The pain had dulled considerably and Adrien found he was quite lucky he even survived the akuma without tearing open his wound again. 

“So, uh, I guess we should probably….Talk?”

Adrien blinked, his gaze falling back to Marinette who had twisted her head to the side, cheek on her hands, as she gazed at him, timid smile in place. His breath hitched at the innocent look and he turned away, staring out his windows at the black night of Paris and the falling rain. “Yeah, uh, yes, we should.”

Silence descended. The only sounds were the sound of the rain, Plagg and Tikki’s muted whispers, and the rumbling of thunder. Every now and again, a crack of lightning lit the sky. 

Her voice was low, quiet, and Adrien tensed, not sure he was prepared for what she had to say. “It was scary. And I hated you for it.” He flinched, unable to keep the expression from his face and he felt Marinette shift on the couch beside him but he didn’t dare to look at her. “I hated you for taking that hit. For bleeding in my arms. For making me cry. And making me carry you to Master Fu’s, crying and begging and pleading for him to save you. Next time, I’ll leave you in an alley.”

He didn’t need to look to know she sent him a pointed glare but there was no heat and her voice remained quiet, soft. “I’m not going to say thank you.”

He snorted, then, a small smile playing at his lips. “Rude.”

He heard her breathy laugh and saw her slippers slip off her feet and to his floor, her toes wiggling into the plushiness of his couch. “I won’t say thank you for almost killing yourself. Don’t do that again. I’m serious. Scream at me, shout, hit me with your baton. But don’t make me….Don’t do it again.”

He faced her, unable to take it any longer when her voice cracked. She was no longer facing the back of the couch or watching their kwami. She was facing forward, knees drawn up to her chest. Her arms were wrapped around them, holding her legs to herself. Her chin was resting on her knees and she was staring with a slight tilt of her head out his windows and into the darkness of the storm. When lightning flashed, lighting up her features, Adrien’s heart stopped and his breath hitched. She was beautiful. 

Breathtaking. And he had hurt her, over and over again. He scooted a bit closer, noticing the way her arms tightened around her legs. He stopped and moved back slightly. Her confused gaze made him smile sadly and if he had had cat ears, they would have been drooped. “I won’t make you uncomfortable.”

She smiled in gratitude, before looking back out at the storm and he followed suit. His words flowed out of him naturally. “If it’s you or me, it’s going to be you. Always going to be you. I won’t apologize for taking that hit for you because I’m not going to stop taking them either.”

“This –This isn’t a game, Adrien! You almost died!” She didn’t turn but her back was ram-rod straight, her eyes now narrowed.

Adrien smiled, shrugged, and stretched out his legs. “And I would. Die for you. Without a second thought. As Adrien or Cat. As ME. If it’s you or me,” He reached over and tucked a strand of blue-black hair – it was as soft as it looked – behind her ear. “It’s you.”

She glared at him out the corner of her, the look slightly defeated by her slight blush. “We’ll move on from that for now but that part of the conversation isn’t over, Cat.”

He grinned, crossing one ankle over the other. “It may not be over but you’re not changing my mind.”

When she shivered, she had left the window open, he vaulted over the back of his couch using one hand and grabbed his thick blanket from his bed. He walked behind her, draping it over from behind. He smirked, Cat Noir popping out, and used the chance to wrap his arms around her as an excuse to wrap her in the blanket. When she looked up at him, her head tilted back, grin in place he knew he was caught. “Sneaky Kitty. Sit down, we still have a lot more to talk about.”

Adrien gave her an exaggerated bow that made her roll her eyes. Before he sat down, he meandered to the window and pulled it shut, staring out at the rain. He decided to stand, watching the rain creating a soothing lull. 

“How….How long did you know I was….um, me?”

Adrien thought back to that night, his shoulders tightening when he remembered. “I didn’t know until that night. You, uh, thought I knew longer though. I didn’t! Marinette,” He glanced back at her and when she gasped, a hand raising to her mouth, he knew with an inward wince, he must have looked hurt. And he was but he hadn’t meant to let her see it. “You can trust me. I would never play with your feelings. Never lie to you. If I had known who you were, I would have told you. I found out that night, in your room.”

She was up, blanket draped around her in seconds, rushing to his side and laying a concerned hand on his arm. His breathing stopped as her bluebell orbs gazed up at him with such remorse and guilt, it ate away at his heart. “Oh, Adrien, I am so sorry. I never meant to….I didn’t mean anything I said. Well, some of it. I mean, I meant it….Oh no, I didn’t-I mean, I….” She smacked a hand to her head and he jumped slightly. “You are a mangy cat.”

He mockingly glared down at her and a small smile finally broke over the dark clouds in her eyes. “But I didn’t mean anything else. I….I do trust you, infinitely. You’re not just my….Best friend, you’re my partner. I could never be Ladybug without you. Not Cat Noir, but you, Adrien, as Cat Noir.”

His smile lit up his face like a Christmas tree, he was sure, and Marinette’s eyes widened before she looked at the floor, her bare foot digging into the wood of his floor. “Thank you Princess.”

She wrapped the blanket higher, up to her cheeks, and Adrien smiled at the sight of her huddled in his blanket, here, in his room. With him. “I’m sorry. You deserve that and I mean it. I’m sorry. For hurting you. And not giving you a chance to explain.”

Adrien’s green eyes softened and he clenched his hands into fists to keep from reaching out for her. “You have nothing to apologize for. I shouldn’t have come. You wanted to be alone. What can I say,” He grinned, eyes half-lidded as he told her, “Cats never know personal space.”

When she started giggling, looking up at him with beautifully bright eyes, he found himself laughing along with her, the sounds of their laughter bringing a light to his room. When her laughter died down, Marinette looked up at him with a wide, toothy smile and his chest tightened at the happiness shining in her eyes, brighter than any diamond money could ever buy. “You’re beautiful….”

He didn’t realize he had said it until her smile instantly fell off her face and her eyes began to widen. Her cheeks darkened slowly, like paint being splashed over her, and he stared at her in confusion, head tilted. When his words replayed, he nearly fell forward when he tried to assure her he hadn’t meant to say it but he paused before he could actually act on it. His heart pounding, he lifted a hand to Marinette’s jaw, her jawline fitting snugly into the palm of his hand. He lifted up her head and brought up his other hand to mould against the other side. He tilted her head up to look at him and when her eyes met his, he whispered it again. “You’re beautiful.”

Marinette’s blue gaze fell down, her head still tilted in Adrien’s hands. His eyes widened when he felt the small, warm touch of her hands gripping his and for a horrible moment, he thought she was going to push him away. He had moved too quick, again! But she only held his hands against her, eyes downcast, cheeks flushed, and Adrien’s pounding heart escalated. 

“W-We still have talks to things about….” She groaned, shaking her head in his grip. “Things. To talk about.”

He chuckled, smiling wide when her eyes finally raised to meet his, shy. “We do.”

But neither one of them moved. Even when the blanket, no longer be held by Marinette, tumbled down and off her shoulders to the floor, tangled around her legs. They didn’t move, even when Plagg and Tikki phased through from the roof of the Agreste mansion to check on them. They didn’t move even when his eyes darkened and her breath caught. 

But Marinette was Marinette and when Adrien leaned only a fraction of an inch closer, her eyes comically widened and she shouted, “I SAW YOU NAKED, TWICE!”

He couldn’t help it, he laughed, loud and hard, dropping his hands to hold his stomach as Marinette sputtered above him, trying to cover her embarrassed shout. She only made it worse and he literally had to hold himself up against the wall of windows when she next sputtered out, “Not that I didn’t want to-I mean, not like this, preferably with me….AH! No, I, uh, um, well, you see…..I want to see you naked, just…..”

She must have realized talking was pointless and it gave Adrien a moment to catch his breath, hunched over his knees with one hand while the other held him up against the windows. His cheeks were aching with the pain of his stretched lips and the laughs he was still chuckling through. His face felt warm from all the blood rushing to his head and he slowly stood, breathing out a couple of more laughs. When his eyes focused on her, Marinette had her arms crossed, looking away from him and lip out. Her eyes were narrowed at nothing and Adrien, astonished, asked her quietly, “Are you….Pouting?”

Marinette didn’t look at him. “No.”

He snorted back a laugh. “No?”

“No, Adrien, I’m not. As in no. Stupid cat.”

He raised his eyebrows at the last comment, an idea making his grin rival even Cat Noir’s best one. Slowly, making sure she couldn’t see his movements, Adrien began to make his way towards her small form. She was so busy mumbling to herself and pouting, that she didn’t notice until it was far too late. He crept up behind her, his feet as quiet as a cat’s paws, before he leaned his head over to her ear, breathing the words, “I wouldn’t mind seeing you naked either, Bugaboo.”

Her shrill squeak and the way she jumped away from him, scrambling, had him in hysterics once again. Laughing so hard, his eyes teared up, he didn’t see the menace of a girl until she let out a groan. Then, to his utter surprise, she tackled him. Little, shy Marinette tackled him and he fell over his own feet, both of them tumbling over the arm rest of the couch with a yelp and a cry. His reflexes like lightning, Adrien caught her and pulled her to him, making sure she wouldn’t be hurt or hit. He landed on his back on the couch, his legs bent over the arm rest. 

Marinette was on his chest, the side of her head pressed against him. His arms were clutching her shoulders tightly, keeping her in place. Her hands were clutched underneath her chin and her legs were draped between his own. Adrien couldn’t help but think that they were just right for each other, feeling her pressed against him was like a puzzle piece finally aligning into place. He didn’t know how he had ever survived without her, before this moment. The feel of his couch against his back, the feel of her heart beating erratically in her chest against his own, the feel of her warm, soft body pressed against his firmer, harder body – it was a struggle to keep a certain part of him from reacting but he managed. Barely. 

He didn’t need being called a pervert. Clearing his throat, he asked, “Are you okay?”

She nodded quickly and Adrien slowly released her shoulders from his tight grip. But he didn’t let her go. Instead, he placed his hands loosely against her lower back, holding her but allowing her the freedom to move if she wished. Even though his legs over the arm rest weren’t the most comfortable, he didn’t dare move. The whole time, Marinette just laid against him and he wondered, with a quick glance at her, if she was actually okay or if he had broken her. 

Just when he debated calling for Tikki, hoping she would be able to help him, Marinette’s small voice broke his muddled, almost frantic thoughts. “It’s much more comfortable talking to you like this.”

Adrien blinked in disbelief. “You were basically a statue and that’s comfortable?”

He felt her giggle against him before she shook her head, her hands loosening, hesitating, before she placed one flat against his chest. His heart may or may not have exploded. “No, but it was a shock. I mean, it’s easier to talk to you when it’s just you and me, with or without the masks. Just….Adrien and Ladybug. Or Cat Noir and Marinette. But somehow, it’s harder to talk the other way around.”

Adrien nodded instantly, knowing exactly what she meant. “Yeah, I understand. We spent a couple of years not knowing and suddenly, now we do. It’s going to take some time.”

She nodded. “And we still have to deal with the new hero.”

She must have felt him tense and his hold tighten because instantly her hands were on his face, pulling his narrowed eyes to stare into her confused, worried blue eyes that he drowned in every time he saw them. He took a deep breath, her thumbs stroking his cheeks making a nice distraction. “I hate him. Can’t we just tell him to get lost?”

Marinette smiled but shook her head. “No, Kitty. He’s on our side. We need his help. Though I don’t know where or how he acquired the Miraculous. What do you think?”

When he saw the intense curiosity in her eyes, he almost said anything just to appease her and see those beautiful eyes light up, but he focused and thought hard on what he knew about Luka, trying to find a clue to how he could have acquired the Dog Miraculous. The he remembered that Marinette didn’t know Luka was the Dog and he winced. She caught on and her thumbs stopped stroking his cheeks. “What aren’t you telling me, Cat?”

He sighed heavily, looking off to the side, put-off, but knowing he had to tell her the truth. No lies between them. So he growled out through grit teeth, “Dog-Boy is Luka.”

Whatever he reaction he expected, her giggling into his chest was not it. He looked down at her, eyes blinking quickly and eyebrows pulled tight together, incredulous. “It isn’t funny!”

She looked up, her smile knowing and instantly, his hackles bristled. That look made him fearful of what she was thinking about. “So cats and dogs really can’t get along, huh?”

Still not seeing where this was going, Adrien hesitantly replied, eyeing her suspiciously. “No. Not this Cat. With that drooling mutt.”

She leaned closer, her chest pressing into him, and he inhaled sharply, his hands on her back pressing just a bit firmer into her. Her breath tickled his lips from a definitely not kissing distance, one he wanted to close. “Not even for me?”

He didn’t need to see her bright bluebell eyes or her confident smirk to agree. But it helped. He sighed, letting his head fall back to the couch and closing his eyes. “Fine. I’ll get along. In the mask.”

He heard her snort. “What about outside the mask?”

“All bets are off.” Adrien opened his eyes, revenge burning in his green eyes and smiling as he leaned back up. He brought their faces closer together, their noses bumping together so he could stare intently into her own and her smile faded, eyes blinking rapidly. “If he so dares as to look at you, I’ll claw his eyes out.”

She bit her lip and his eyes fell to the action, green darkening to a shimmering desire. He felt her heart beat pick up and his playful smile faded, his mouth opening slightly as his breathing got heavier. One move, it would only take one move to kiss her. He held himself back, his hands pressing into her back, pushing her into him. His breath hitched the moment her hands clenched into his shirt. Their eyes never looked away, darkening in desire, and their bodies pressed together intimately. He swallowed thickly.

“Jealous….” She breathed, glancing at his lips again. “Are we?”

He tilted his head, their noses rubbing together, sparking something in him as his eyelids dropped, gaze deep and intent. “You have no idea, Princess.”

Her tongue darted out to wet her dry lips and he groaned, his eyes closing as his forehead fell against her cheek. “And if you don’t stop doing that I’m going to kiss you.”

A long silence prevailed but when he lifted up his head to apologize, his words got swallowed up. He took a second to see her bluebell eyes closed, cheeks bright pink, and head tilted slightly before he closed his and let the kiss take him away. He pushed against her lips with his own, raising a hand to her cheek, caressing the skin of her cheek and her jaw. Her hands fisted into his shirt, their waists pressed together. She tasted like the sweets from her bakery and he couldn’t get enough of her, drowning in the taste of spring and sweets. 

His hand on her cheek ran around to the back of her head where he pulled out the red strings holding her pig tails in and let her hair hang loose for a moment before his hand tangled in it. Her breathy gasp made him smile into their kiss, tilting his head a bit further and running his tongue on the tip of her lips. Adrien pulled away slightly, panting, his body on fire before he swooped in again to kiss those lips that were the sweetest thing he had ever tasted. She didn’t fight him, her hands fisted in his shirt bringing him closer. 

He shivered when she pressed against him, her hands letting go of his shirt to wrap around his neck, pressing her chest against him fully and he held her tighter to him. This time when they both pulled away, Adrien had to take a minute to catch his breath before he opened his eyes. And a strong possessive feeling overtook him when he saw Marinette. Her head was still tilted slightly to the side, her lips a swollen and thoroughly kissed red. Her mouth was slightly parted, her little breaths making him have to grit his jaw. 

Her eyes were closed and the only way to describe her expression was blissful. Slowly, as if in a dream, her bluebell eyes opened. Her gaze fell on his a moment later and a slow, beautiful, bright smile made his heart stutter. “I don’t think I’m going on that date with Luka.”

Adrien growled and pulled her lips back to his, this kiss much more passionate than the last one. His tongue delved into her mouth and at her gasp, the hand grasping her hair pushed her closer, exploring her mouth with a desire that left them both breathless. He pulled away again, panting, eyes narrowed as he growled out, “I wouldn’t.”

She giggled breathlessly. “I won’t. But…..” Desire still flared strong between them but her cheeks flushed and she looked down, fidgeting with her hands behind his neck. “I would, want to. With you.”

He smiled gently, his heart melting. He leaned forward when her head raised up and nuzzled their noses together. “I’m yours, M’Lady. Any time, anywhere.”

She closed her eyes, the rain thundering down on the roof nowhere near as loud as her whisper in Adrien’s ears. “Forever?”

As if he could give her any less. 

“Forever.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Mon garçon - My boy. (If this is incorrect, please let me know!!)
> 
> Also......I know I said last Chapter.....But there is a final, bonus chapter! Sorry, my brain never stops.


	4. BONUS - Be The Dog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luka learns what it means to love someone and to be the Dog. Master Fu is a crazy old man but he knows what he's doing.

Master Fu was 188 years old. He was wise and he had seen many things in his life but never had he seen the pure, connected bond that existed between Marinette and Adrien. His trained eyes could see the swirling, transparent, glittery cords that wrapped around them, tying them together. Thick, unbreakable strands that created some form of connection. He knew, the day he stumbled into their lives, on purpose of course, that they were not just going to become the next Ladybug and Cat Noir; they weren’t going to just wear the suits and be declared heroes. These two were going to bring those suits to _life_. They didn’t need to be declared heroes or wear the suits to become one. Adrien and Marinette were very rare, even to the Miraculous world: they were _born_ heroes. 

There was an old saying that heroes were not born but created through their life experiences and how they chose to live their lives towards others. But Master Fu knew, as true as this was, that there was such a thing as “born” heroes. It was just that he couldn’t remember heroes being born into the world in quite some time. He took a sip of his herbal tea, lifting the mug to his lips, just as the door to his healing room smashed open. 

Wayzz, who had been sitting, meditating on the small, round wooden table where his Chosen sat, cried out at the intrusion and instantly dived into the gramophone for cover. Master Fu chuckled, setting the mug down, his eyes closed but an amused smile on his lips. “Hello, I’ve been expecting you.”

He opened his deep, chocolate coloured eyes to see a very irate teenager – oh, look, there’s that sparkling, twisting cord and….Oh…..It was….Stronger, brighter – dragging Luka by his collar in one hand, and Adrien in the other. Marinette was frowning, her cheeks bright red from exertion, and anger he guessed at the way Adrien’s, currently Cat Noir, ears were pressed flat against his head. She let the two boys fall when she reached the table and went over to his side, sitting with her legs tucked under her, gesturing at the now sitting up and glowering boys.

They had both sat on their knees, legs tucked beneath them, hands clasped in their laps. Their heads were hunched down but Master Fu could see their eyes glaring deeply into the other’s. He looked between them a moment then to Marinette. Her arms were crossed and though she was glaring at the two oblivious men who loved her, her eyes lingered quite a bit too long on Cat Noir and Master Fu had to lift his mug to take a sip of tea to hide his knowing smile. A little jealous competition never hurt anyone. It looked like his plan had worked. At least their feelings were out there now and the two could strengthen the bond between them.

He knew only amazing things could be expected from them now. He coughed when he set his mug down, bringing the glowering eyes to him. He was quite surprised – and rather proud – when it wasn’t Cat Noir who protested first but Luka, currently transformed into WolfsBane, who growled out, “That mangy feline needs put down.”

Cat Noir glared at Bane before his eyes narrowed into tiny slits and he leaned over, a growling-yowl beginning in the back of his throat. Master Fu felt Marinette tense before she whispered, “Oh no, here we go again…..”

Before the fight could break out, Master Fu’s smile faded and he tapped two of his fingers against the ground quickly. WolfsBane and Cat Noir jolted as if they had both been electrocuted, wide eyes meeting Master Fu’s serious gaze. “There will be no fighting here. You are super heroes and your gifts are not to be wasted fighting amongst each other.”

When both heads ducked, ashamed, and Cat Noir’s tail began to fidget, Master Fu took pity and softened the harsh look, knowing they were only teenagers after all. “Put aside your jealousy. You both love this girl.” He gestured to Marinette whose eyes snapped to him, betrayal in her eyes and cheeks now pale, as if him even uttering the words aloud was taboo. “So treat her like you do. Arguing and fighting will only cause her pain. Do you want to apologize?”

Cat Noir didn’t waste any time. His eyes looked up instantly to meet Marinette’s blue ones and Master Fu watched, intently, the silent emotional connection that flared to life between them. “I’m sorry, M’Lady. I would never hurt you.”

WolfsBane seemed to notice the bond between them too, his eyes turned away and he clenched his hands in his lap, posture tense. Master Fu watched it all with knowing, wise eyes. They were kids and they had a lot of growing to do. He felt slight guilt when his eyes landed on WolfsBane again, the boy clearly breathing hard to try and clear away his feelings, to push away the emotions clawing at him. He had given Luka the Dog Miraculous knowing what it would entail. He also knew it would have brought Adrien and Marinette together and given Plagg the time to see Tikki, to heal the wounds of time and seperation.

Luka had been a stepping stone on the path they needed and now, it was Luka’s turn to find his own path, now that he was on the right one, the one of healing and moving forward. 

Master Fu placed a kind, gentle hand on Marinette’s shoulder, snapping the girl from her and Cat Noir’s intense yet soft looks. Her bluebell gaze glanced up at him and he smiled reassuringly. “I need to speak to Luka alone. Can you escort Cat Noir home?”

It took a lot of will power not to chuckle when the voice across snorted and huffed, “To her home, more likely. She has a habit of picking up strays.”

Marinette glared but her lips were twitching into a smile and her body was completely relaxed, open. Her heart was in her eyes and Master Fu’s swelled for them. “Yes, Master. Thank you. I thought I was going to have to kill them!”

Master Fu did laugh then. Marinette couldn’t kill anyone if she tried. He gestured to Luka, the boy’s transformation receding, eyes hard as stone. Master Fu met Marinette’s eyes as she stood and flicked them to Luka. She blinked, looked over, and her eyes instantly softened, a sadness welling in them. Fu turned to Cat Noir, the slitted eyes watching Marinette’s every move her every emotion, and tapped the table to get the heroes attention.

Reluctantly, Cat met his gaze. “Give them just a moment, Adrien. You know it’s what’s best.”

His conflicted thoughts played over his face before he let out a deep, heavy sigh and stood to his feet, tail dragging on the ground and eyes looking at the floor as he mumbled over to Marinette, “I’ll be waiting outside, on the roof.”

The Cat stalked out the door, not giving her enough time to respond, her reply frozen on her lips and hand held uselessly in the air. She drew it back, her shoulders dropping, and that was all it took. Luka snapped to his feet, grinding his jaw and snapping his cold blue gaze up to Marinette who jumped when it landed on her. 

“He’s not good enough for you Marinette.” Luka, his eyes hard but his hands trembling, reached up to brush a strand of her hair behind her ear. Master Fu listened, closing his eyes as he let Fate play it’s cards. “He nearly hurt you today!”

Marinette stepped away from Luka’s reach, shaking her head, hands held to her chest. Her eyes were soft but firm. “He fell into the akuma’s spell. Taking a hit for me. Again.” Her gaze quickly sent a glare up at the ceiling, all parties knowing the Cat could hear them from the roof. “That wasn’t his fault. And believe me, he regrets it. He always does. I….He’s my partner. My best friend. And you’re a good friend too, Luka. I don’t want to lose either of you.”

Marinette’s shoulders were shaking and she was sniffling, her eyes welling with tears and Master Fu flicked a glance up to her, smiling sadly. He knew what was coming. He had known the moment he handed the Dog over to Luka. “But if you make me choose you or him.” Her voice cracked. “It’s going to be him.”

She turned, her blue pig-tails bobbing as she slouched towards Master Fu’s door, her shoulders shaking. Somewhere on the roof, there was a low growl and a curse and Marinette hastily wiped away her tears. She took a deep breath and mumbled, “I care about you Luka. I do.” She looked at the boy over her shoulder and Luka stared back, the tension and the pain heavy between them. “But not the way you want me to.”

Her eyes flicked to the wood floor and with a sigh wrought with emotion, she was gone. Master Fu listened to her receding foot steps and neither Guardian nor Chosen said a word until they heard the telltale sign of Marinette and Adrien bounding off of the roof and into the mid-day sun of Paris, glistening with freshly fallen rain. Luka’s hands were clenched and his shoulders were taut, his jaw tightly closed. 

Master Fu inhaled deeply, gesturing without looking for Wayzz to come out. The small, green Turtle God hesitated with a look at Luka’s angry form before flitting over to his Chosen. Master Fu stood to his feet, hands behind his back, approaching the seething boy with Wayzz hiding on his shoulder. 

“All things happen for a reason.”

Luka’s hard, steely eyes flew down to Master Fu and he snarled, eyes glistening with unshed tears. “You said this was meant for me! That I…..That I was meant for Marinette!”

Master Fu never wavered in the face of Luka’s anger. He watched Luka’s heaving chest a moment before he spoke, eyes sympathetic but firm. “You are. You are the Dog. Barxx was meant for you. I can feel it, she can feel it.”

A golden light flew out from the bracelet on his arm before it materialized into his kwami. She looked like a mix between a wolf and a fox really more than a Dog. Her small body was covered in a golden-brown fur. She had paws for hands and a long, bushy tail. Her ears were upright and from both sides of her face she had three tufts of fur, like Luka’s mask when he was WolfsBane. She had a white diamond in the middle of her forehead that flowed down to her nose where it branched off beneath her eyes and a point before ending at her jaw. 

The white strip trailed down her neck, to the middle of her chest into a diamond, and down to the middle of her stomach. Her stubby legs had a white strip going down the middle to the middle of her feet. The same pattern repeated on her arms and her paws. A single white strip ran down the length of her tail and her bright, amber eyes were trained on Luka with a knowing frown. “Lu, being meant for someone doesn’t mean you’re lovers. Sometimes,” Barxx covered one of her arms with a paw, her eyes looking down at the floor. “Sometimes you’re brought into someone else’s life to be something else. She cares about you. Isn’t that enough?”

Luka threw his hands up in the air and began to pace around the small room, his hands falling into his hair as he struggled to remain calm. “It should be! I mean, she cares about me, that’s good! But,” Luka’s shoulders began to shake and Barxx sighed deeply. “But I want her to _love me_.”

Master Fu smiled knowingly when Barxx flew straight into the Luka’s face, the man’s eyes widening when her paws reached out and she pulled his nose to hers, a deep-seated glare in her eyes. There was a reason Luka needed Barxx. She balanced him out. This was never going to turn out well for Luka. Without Master Fu’s intervention, he knew the boy would have been much more heartbroken later on down the road. Barxx could help him heal. Master Fu reached up a hand to pat Wayzz’s head when the Turtle poked his head up from behind Master Fu’s shoulder. 

“She loves you. Not the way you want her to but she does, or she wouldn’t have even bothered to stay your friend.” Barxx’s voice was loud in the quiet room and Master Fu closed his eyes. This was it. This was the moment for Luka. “So what matters more: her love for you or her happiness? Because you can make her love you, you could, you could do it. But she would never be happy. So what is it, Lu? You can’t have both.”

Luka broke, his glare and frown went away, replaced by a scared, hurt, lost boy who sunk into himself. Barxx refused to let him look away, holding tight to his cheeks and he whispered, “Her happiness. Always.”

Barxx smiled then, twin fangs poking out from her mouth, and she patted his cheeks gently. “That’s my boy. Even if she doesn’t love you, even if all you are is her close friend, her happiness should come first. Because _you_ love _her_.”

Master Fu coughed, bringing both pairs of eyes to him. He smiled, nodding to Luka. “Love is a powerful force. It comes in many forms and many different ways. Embrace who you are, accept what you cannot change, and become the hero you were meant to be. The Miraculous,” Master Fu turned, looking out at a rain soaked, shining Paris and smiled, feeling the way Fate’s hands gripped the Earth. “Are a part of you. Dogs are loyal companions. They are….”

His chocolate eyes looked back at Luka, smile soft, and Luka coughed out a laugh through the tears in his eyes. “Man’s best friend.”

Master Fu turned back to the view, closed his eyes, and straightened his back. The winds of change and Fate blew around him, into the room.

“Be her friend. Love her and support her. Be loyal.”

When Luka next spoke, Master Fu’s smile widened at the gentle strength in his words. “Be the Dog.”

A swirl of red and black energy danced with black and green, the two twining together, twisting into one another as if there was no way to separate them. They danced through Paris, flying, Fate’s hands wrapped tight around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this is it. This story is done. You'll probably see some more out of me but for now, I hope everyone who has read this has enjoyed it! Until the next one! :)


	5. BONUS - Reconcilation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the talk that takes place after Chapter 3. Marinette has building emotions and Adrien helps her deal with them. Maybe all they needed was each other.

If anyone had told Marinette two weeks ago, she would be cuddled up with Adrien Agreste in his bed, she would have laughed in their faces. Yet, the black-bluish haired girl found herself doing exactly that. Adrien was leaning back against his wall, both of their legs tucked underneath his blue comforter, thick and heavy against her. His one arm was wrapped around her shoulder, her head pressed into his chest where she could hear the steady thump of his heart, the rain pouring down outside creating a beautiful rhythm. 

Their other hands were pressed together, fingers linked, placed over his stomach where she could see him holding firmly to her hand. Out his wall of windows, she could see Paris’ lights twinkling in the night, stars in the sky just as bright. Her heart felt heavy at the emotions still in the room hanging over her head and she bit her swollen lip with a fierce blush. There had been talking. And a lot of kisses. A lot. Adrien was a very affectionate boy she realized with a smile as he leaned over to kiss the top of her head for what she was sure was probably the 10th time in the last hour. 

And though she was tired she knew there was more. They didn’t need to talk about it all, right now, but her heart and mind were heavy with the flow of remorse. Guilt eat away at her stomach and she tightened her grip on their joined hands. 

He squeezed back, jolting her from her guilt-ridden thoughts. “Marinette, you okay?”

The concern in his voice brought back that horrible moment in her bedroom and suddenly she was thrown back. She had avoided thinking of it too much, too angry and hurt, but there was nothing between her and the horrible – oh God how was he okay with her!? – words she had said reverberating inside her mind. Her lip wobbled and she bit into it, hard, to keep from making a sound but Adrien knew. He always knew.

Instantly, he let go of her hand to pull her fully over and onto him. He settled her between his legs, her head pressed into his chest, both of his strong arms holding her so tightly she didn’t have the time to breathe. His scent – spicy, musky, fresh all at once – calmed her but her ragged breathing caused him to tense, not sure what was going on. He didn’t ask. He held her, gave her her space, and the guilt turned into a churning hate. For herself. Sure, he had told her he was fine, that they had nothing else to talk about, that he trusted her. But the hurt, blank look in his eyes wouldn’t fade from her mind. Cat on all fours, on her balcony, crouching and staring at her as if she had told him she hated him. 

“Marinette, hey, it’s okay.” His soothing voice was quiet in her ear. “I told you I forgive you, it’s okay. Besides, how else are you going to keep this kitty in line?”

His playful tone was offset by the clear concern and her eyes burned, her throat tightening. She swallowed past the thick, painful lump and closed her eyes. The first tear fell and she found it was harder to push the others back as she shakily whispered, “I really didn’t mean it. I don’t know why I said it….I-I’m sorry.”

The memory of a scared, hurt Cat apologizing for something she should never have pushed onto him threw her over the edge: with a cry, Marinette’s hands rose to clutch Adrien’s crumpled Cat Noir shirt as her body trembled with her sobs, her cries soft and muffled against his chest. She felt the hot, burning tears as they climbed down her cheeks and Adrien’s arms tightened. Slowly, he rocked her but she couldn’t stop. Her body demanded release from all the tension built up over the last couple of days, at the hurt she had inflicted on someone she deeply loved.

Now she knew why Alya always yelled at her for her impulsiveness. She froze when she felt the vibrations of Adrien’s voice in his chest. He wasn’t talking or singing. He was humming. Something old and powerful and she felt it’s magick work, her body relaxing into his hold. He hummed the melody, letting it wash over the room and blend with the rumbling thunder and rain. Her tears slowly stopped falling but her eyes burned, her throat still tight, and she held onto Adrien with everything she had. 

He held back, his hold tight and unrelenting. She sniffled and she felt the melody fade out. He gripped her shoulders tight and she could feel his chest lifting with the tension filling his body. “You…..Don’t regret this….Do you?”

She shot up, not caring her hair was a mess, eyes bloodshot and puffy, her cheeks splotchy. She lifted her pale hands, grabbed his cheeks, and moved closer to stare into his wide, concerned green eyes. “Adrien Agreste, you ever say that again and so help me, I will make you sleep on my balcony in a cat bed when you come to see me!”

His eyes softened and his smile was gentle, sheepish, his arms curling around her waist. “Are you okay, Princess?”

Her eyes blinked quickly past the burning in them as she tried to decide if she wanted to punch him in the stomach or kiss him for asking her if she was alright when he was the one she broke. She settled for a kiss. She leaned in, her eyes falling half-closed as she brought their lips a breadth away. She felt him tense and saw his eyes darken, a very cattish look taking over that had her mouth suddenly going dry and her body feeling warm. It was Cat’s look and she felt a rush of affection at the boy who was both her partner and her best friend. 

Her heart pounded in her chest but she found she couldn’t take her eyes off his green gaze, it’s stare boring into her, and when he realized she probably wasn’t going to move forward, his smirk was a sin. He claimed her lips in a gentle yet bruising kiss, firm in his movements. No matter how many times it had happened in the last hour, every time she felt a spark burst within her, ricocheting through her body and causing heat to pool in her stomach. 

Her eyes closed completely and she surrendered, his lips like a silky touch that beckoned her to him. He didn’t push any further than a kiss, his arms around her waist pressing her into him, before he pulled back slowly. Her breath was quick and shaky and when she opened her eyes, she found him staring at her. The look took her breath away before she could even fully catch it again. His beautiful green orbs were bright, shimmering with an emotion that made her heart pound. His cheeks were flushed a beautiful shade of pink, his lips moist and slightly swollen. But it was his smile that made her weak, made her forget how to breathe. 

Happy. It was a gentle, soft happy smile and Marinette felt her lips mirroring it, her eyes watering from the emotion flowing between them. She cracked her lips open to utter the words without even thinking about them, “I’m sorry.”

Like a tidal wave, her guilt, her remorse, the pain of her words, the memories of that night all swirled inside her and Marinette felt her lip wobbling. She pushed through, ignoring the way his eyes narrowed on her. If he had been Cat, his slits would have been thin slivers and still, she pushed through the fog of feelings. “I’m really, truly sorry. I hurt you.” Her voice cracked on the last note and she ducked her head, afraid of what she might see in his glowing green eyes. “I was…..There was so much going on and I took it out on you. That wasn’t fair.”

She stopped, feeling a hand on her jaw that lifted her watery blue eyes to his own. She inhaled sharply. She expected disgust, possibly agreement that she was too harsh. Maybe sadness at the remembrance of her words. Annoyance she suspected at the way she was behaving. Marinette’s body, even her mind, froze as she tried to process the unusually harsh look on Adrien’s face. It was a sort of tender fury and he leaned up so their noses touched, his eyes boring into her with a depth that caused tears to well in the corners of her eyes.

“Let me make this clear. You could carve my beating heart out of my chest and hand it to Hawkmoth and start akumatizing people and I would….” Adrien paused, his eyes softening and his cheeks going red as he leaned his head towards her shoulder, his blonde hair tickling her chin as he mumbled the words into her neck. “I would still love you.”

She crushed him to her, hiding her head in his shoulder, inhaling the scent of his hair and letting the feeling of this amazing boy in her arms soothe the ache in her heart. It wasn’t until the words registered a second later that her eyes widened and she let out a scream, pushing away from Adrien and off the bed onto her back. She stared at the ceiling of his room, her heart pounding so hard she felt dizzy. Her face was hot, her breath coming in quick pants. She saw a red form barrelling for her at high speeds until Tikki’s large expressive eyes were looking at her in concern. 

“Marinette! Are you okay?” The little red creation God turned her head to face Adrien, who was leaning his head shyly off the bed, his cheeks completely red up to his ears, Plagg looking down at him with crossed arms. “What did you do?”

Adrien scratched the back of his head, looking at Marinette’s wide-eyed form on the floor before he snorted to cover a chuckle. “Told her I loved her?”

He said it questioningly and somewhere in her mind, Marinette heard those words again, the sound taunting her. She could hear Tikki’s scream and her zoom off towards Adrien followed by Plagg’s low voice shouting something. Nothing was in focus, her eye sight was blurry and her hearing was distorted and then, suddenly, _everything_ was in hyper-focus. Adrien’s ceiling had never been more precise in her eyes. Her heart slowed to a steady pulse and her breathing lessened. The feel of the cold, hard floor beneath her was seeping into her skin through her pajamas. 

The rain was pouring down in hard, thick sheets and she could hear it thumping against the roof, every drop hitting, and she could hear the thunder over them. Lightning cracked across the Parisian sky and lit up Adrien’s room. Those words echoed in her mind and she felt a warmth bloom inside her chest. She sat up slowly, looking at the scene on the bed, a fond amusement filling her bluebell orbs as her ringing ears cleared enough for her to hear the conversation. The three oblivious figures didn’t notice her and she was a bit grateful, content to just watch them.

Tikki was hovering in front of Adrien, her antenna bobbing in excitement. “You told her you loved her, what did you expect to happen!?”

Adrien hid his face in his hands, sitting cross-legged on his bed, his shoulders hunched. “When normal guys tell normal girls they love them, they don’t collapse onto the floor in a coma!”

Plagg laughed, holding his belly, and Tikki turned a vicious glare to the cat-like God but he only laughed harder floating next to Tikki. “Aha-Oh….I haven’t had a laugh like this in years! Pfft!” He took a few deep breaths to calm his chuckles before he floated down to Adrien’s hunkered form. Marinette’s eyes softened when she saw the cat sprite hesitantly lift a paw to pat his shoulder. “You two still have a lot to talk about, kid. Your emotions were running high and things were said that you didn’t mean. It happens.”

Plagg shrugged when Adrien peeked up at him from behind his hands, his face red in embarrassment. For the first time, she saw a genuinely soft smile pull at the cat’s lips. “Don’t beat yourself up over what you can’t change. Mari ain’t like those other girls. She won’t leave you. If she didn’t trust you, she wouldn’t even be here now, comatose or not.”

Adrien’s hands fell away, eyes hopeful at Plagg’s words as he smiled small, shy, and Tikki landed in the hands in his lap, looking up at him with a gentle nod towards him. “Besides, you two have something special. Not just Cat Noir and Ladybug.” Tikki smiled gently and Marinette recognized it as the look Tikki got whenever she was thinking on memories far too ancient for two teenage kids. “You two have a bond, I can feel it. Plagg can feel it. Master Fu felt it. You have something that is unbreakable and whether you choose to develop it into a relationship or not is up to you. Marinette is shy and scared, Adrien. Just like you.”

Tikki floated upwards, looking Adrien into his eyes before she smiled, sugary sweet. “And if you hurt her, I will rip off your tail and hang you upside down from the Eiffel Tower in your underwear. Okay?”  
Marinette watched Adrien’s face pale and Plagg shake his head. The small destruction God darted to his other half and grabbed her with his tail, pulling them up towards the ceiling. “She means it, kid! And, hey, at least with you gone, Marinette will actually give me all the cheese I want!”

Adrien threw his head back with a groan as he mumbled up, “All you think about is your stomach….I mean less than Camembert to you!”

Plagg snorted but Marinette saw the softness in the cat’s green slitted eyes. “Of course not! Unlike you, Camembert completes me!”

Adrien grinned and coughed into a fist, gesturing behind Plagg. The black kwami’s eyes went wide and his ears flattened at the tense, angry vibes from behind him. Slowly, he turned to face Tikki, her hands on her hips and eyes narrowed. “Camembert completes you, does it?”

Both teens were witness to the Cat shouting for help as Tikki phased them through the roof and out of the room, Marinette unable to hold back her laughter. Adrien’s head snapped to her and she fondly watched his face darken to resemble a cherry. The mortification in his eyes made her smile falter and Marinette whispered, “Oh, Cat.”

She didn’t think about it, all she wanted was to wipe that look from his eyes, the act of being caught saying he loved her as if she was going to disappear if he said it, making her lunge for him. She stumbled her way into his chest, the both of them falling back into his bed. Her arms were wrapped tightly around him, squeezing him to her, her cheek on his chest and listening to that beautiful sound of his heart beating when not even 2 days that very thing had been in danger. She didn’t care she was kneeling between his legs or that they still had so much to talk about. All she wanted right now was to hold the boy she loved with everything in her.

Every pore of her skin, every hair on her head, and every beat of her heart was for him. She felt it in the fiber of her soul, in her bones, a connection that thrummed between them and she didn’t care that Luka was the Dog and she would have to break his heart. She didn’t care that Alya and Nino had blown her phone up a few hours ago when she hadn’t responded. She didn’t care there would be more akumas and more pain and more reckless Cat. All she cared about was the breathing, living, warm body in her arms.

Marinette poured everything she had into the embrace and it didn’t take long before his own arms wound around her and pulled her tighter to him until they were both pressed body to body. He buried his nose into her hair and inhaled, causing Marinette’s hear to stutter when his hoarse voice whispered, “I don’t really want to let you go. But it’s almost 2am and you need your sleep Princess.”

She shook her head, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. How could she go home and leave him like this? How could she leave him at all? Her voice was shaky but she was glad it didn’t break. “Just a little bit longer, Kitty. Please.”

He nuzzled deeper into her hair and groaned. “You’re going to kill one of my 9 lives, you know.”

She giggled into his chest, her desperate hold on him relaxing a bit. “You’ll have 7 left. You’ll be fine.”

He faked a gasp. “Purr-incess, how could you say that about me? Your claws are cutting me quite deep.”

She felt one of Adrien’s hands previously holding her reach up to twine through her loose hair, making her hum in appreciation. “Did you….Want to talk?”

His fingers fumbled a moment and she heard his heart flutter in apprehension. Suddenly, the happiness of the room though still prevalent, dimmed slightly and Marinette knew what she needed to say. She didn’t know his life story but she hoped, one day, he would trust her enough to tell her. For now, all she knew was she needed to comfort him. She needed to let him know she wasn’t going to wake up tomorrow and suddenly decide she didn’t want him. Too many people had decided that in his life and she wasn’t going to be one of them. 

“Trust me.” The strength of her voice surprised her and apparently Adrien too when his fingers stilled in her hair. “Trust me not to hurt you. Again.” She winced at the quick memory of her hurtful words, vowing to make it up to him. “Trust me not to leave you, not to walk away from this, whatever this is between us. Trust me to protect your stupidly reckless choices in our battles against the akuma. Trust me to have your back in and out of the mask.”

She felt his fingers trembling at the base of her neck and she twisted her head so her forehead was against his thumping heart, placing a gentle kiss there and smiling at the way he froze, caught off guard. She blew out a shaky breath and whispered, “Trust me to love you.”

He squeaked and she laughed when he stood, carrying her in his arms, to spin them around his room. His face was buried in her neck, her feet slightly off the ground and crushed in his embrace. She wound her hands up from his tight hold and looped them around his neck, nestling her head against his. He slowed their spin until it resembled a close, slow dance her feet still off the ground and her heart weightless. His arms were trembling and she could feel the wide smile from his mouth pressing a kiss into her shoulder. 

It was the closest they had gotten to their feelings. They had said they loved each other, and Marinette believed it, she trusted Adrien. But she knew they would have to talk about it later. He had promised her forever and they had forever to talk about all the words, the misunderstandings, and she was sure there would be more down the road. But she also knew, with a certainty in her gut, that they would face them together. 

Her eyes glanced up into green eyes when he pulled away to look down at her, setting her small feet on his, slowly moving them around. Adrien’s face was soft and she could see the man in the boy then, she could see Cat Noir, the superhero that had always been there inside him. She drew her hands around to his jaw, holding his face and giving him a wide smile. “We still need to talk.”

Adrien shook his head, kissing each of her palms as he did so. “No, tomorrow. We have plenty of time to talk. Right now, let’s just….Let’s just be together.”

She swallowed past the lump in her throat and blinked back the moisture in her eyes. “I still can’t believe you want to be with me.”

An incredulous look spread over his face and he snorted. “Like I deserve you? Princess, you are leagues above this alley cat.” At her indignant sputtering, he leaned close, nuzzling their noses together and halting her failed speech to be replaced with a flush and a glare. He grinned. “I don’t deserve you, that’s true. But no one is worthy of an amazing, beautiful, talented girl like you.” With each word his eyes softened, green melting the blue in hers. “But I’m going to spend all the time I have proving them wrong. That somehow, this,” He let go of her waist to grip her hands and put them on his chest, holding their hands over his beating heart, slowing their dance to a stop. “Is where we both belong.”

He leaned forward, letting go of her hands to grip her waist again and she found her hands refused to move, clutching his shirt and holding tight. He brought his lips close enough to feel every breath against hers and looked into her blue orbs that roiled with unshed tears. “Besides, if I don’t, Alya is going to kill me. I’m a superhero. And I’m afraid of her.”

She laughed, her forehead falling against his as her shoulders shook and tears leaked from her eyes. She brought up a hand to cover her laughter but his hand intercepted hers immediately, holding it in a tight grip. “You’re afraid of my best friend?”

He shuddered playfully, cat-like green and bluebell shaded eyes meeting again. “And you’re not?”

Marinette grinned and kissed his nose. “Okay okay, you got me. Alya is just too….Alya! She’s going to figure it out, that it’s us, and you know what?” Marinette shook her head, blue strands of her hair falling between them. “I fear that more than Hawkmoth.”

Adrien chuckled and looked up at her from dark lashes, green eyes flashing. “I’ll just sweep you away Princess!”

And he did, right off her feet and into his arms. He jerked away, smile wide and playful and so much Cat that Marinette wondered how she had never seen it before. He swooped an arm under her legs and one behind her back, pulling her laughing into his arms as she threw hers up around his neck. He spun her once, twice, and Marinette wondered if happiness was this easy? She knew they still had to fight akumas, Hawkmoth still had to be dealt with, her parents and her friends still didn’t know anything about her life, she had a new Dog hero who seemed to rival Cat’s affections (that was going to be her hardest challenge), and there were still emotions running through the both of them that the high of their happiness faded to a dull throb.

But she was in his arms, she loved him, he loved her, and really, they had forever. What did she have to lose?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There so much fluff here....I don't know where it all came from. O.O Well, this is after Chapter 3 technical but can be anytime I suppose. Either way, here's some reconcilation!
> 
> Also I don't know why I say last chapter when I always find something else so I'm not gonna say it this time! :p

**Author's Note:**

> For those of you who made it this far: THERE IS A SECOND CHAPTER WOOHOO!! I just have to finish typing it and post it! Hang in there! 
> 
> This was supposed to be a one-shot and turned into a two-chapter story.....Welp, that's life!
> 
> .....This is now a 5 Chapter story.......I have no excuses! XD The newest chapter will be added soon! Keep your eyes peeled. Thanks to all the comments on this story allowing me to see different ways of making this story better! And to every single person who has read this!


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